Shower Curtains
by black-howie
Summary: DISCONTINUED Kai's imagination goes crazy when Mariah has been chosen by the elders of her village to monitor Ray, and she insists on following him everywhere. Hints of KxR. Mariah Bashing! -DISCONTINUED-
1. The New Guest

This fic is dedicated to my friend, Phillis, who's a Ray… Rei fan-girl, hates Mariah and is a strong believer in the KxR relationship… or RxK as she likes it… She was disappointed at the lack of Ray appearances in Hot Soup and so, this is for her.  
  
Thanks for reviewing and telling me to put this up. Hope you all like it… it's really awkward and weird at some places…  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
Shower Curtains  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Ray was singing in the shower again.  
  
~~~*Tune of "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider"*  
  
~~~"The pow-er-ful ti-ger went climbing up a tree.  
  
~~~He made a face and scared a birdie!  
  
~~~Out flew the bird and left its eggs alone,  
  
~~~Then the tiger brought the eggs to me… so they'd become my own!"  
  
Being too occupied with his singing, he didn't notice the bathroom door slowly creak open and close.  
  
"Out flew the bird and left—" Ray stopped abruptly. He noticed a shadow, move quickly from one side of the room to the other. Pausing for a while, and not seeing any other movement, Ray decides it was just a trick of his mind, and starts singing again.  
  
"And left its eggs alone, and the tiger brought the eggs to me… so they'd become my own! OHHHHHHHHHHHH, the pow-er-ful ti-ger went climbing up a— *CRASH*" Ray dropped the soap, surprised, and stopped singing again knowing something was in the room with him.   
  
"A burglar's breaking into the bathroom!!!! …a bathroom?? What the??" thought Ray.   
  
"What if… it's a stalker! A stalker stalking me!??!?!?! All those crazy fan-girls! Oh, I should've known that some day, one of 'em would come after me! Oh… I'm naked and everything! It has to be a stalker! Oh no! I've got no protection! Um…" Ray looks around.  
  
"uh… I can use the… the… BACKSCRUB!" thought Ray as he grabbed the back scrub. Noticing that the shadow seemed to have moved right by the shower, Ray lashed out with the back scrub.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" yelled Ray, hitting the head of the pink shadow with a big thud, cracking the back scrub.  
  
"Pink?"  
  
Looking down at his victim, he saw that is was Mariah.  
  
"OWWWW!!!! What'd you do that for?!?! That REALLY hurt!" cried Mariah.  
  
"Eh… heh heh heh… sorry bout that…" apologized Ray as he sweat dropped.  
  
"Whoa… you must have one HARD head to still be awake after that hit."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Uh… it's good to see you still alive?"  
  
"What did you say???" said Mariah slowly but harshly.  
  
"Uh… uh…" Ray was getting anxious, knowing Mariah's wrath always resulted in some sort of destructive force, whether it was a hole through a wall or the breaking of someone's bone, "it's SO good to see you here in the bathroom while I'm… taking… a… shower…???"  
  
"That's better."  
  
Sighing in relief, Ray steps back only to slip on the bar of soap he dropped.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Ray as he fell with a *SMACK!*  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Tyson, Max and Kenny were all watching "Mr. Dressup" on TV. (A/N: Mr. Dressup is a little kid show in Canada. It's like Mr. Rogers in the US. If you don't know either one of them, just think of a little kiddy show that makes crafts, cooks, tells stories and all the other kinds of stuff to entertain little kids) Kai was leaning against the far wall, monitoring them, as the liked to sing and dance along with Mr. Dressup, and act out the skits along with him. He needed a good laugh sometime.  
  
As Tyson had a blanket over him pretending to be a dragon, and Kenny and Max were the little people that were scared of the dragon, all the boys heard a high-pitched scream, causing Tyson, Max and Kenny to jump out of their skins, and Kai to look up.  
  
"What was that?" asked Max.  
  
"It sounded like a girl!" said Kenny.  
  
"What would a girl be doing here?" Tyson wondered.  
  
As the boys were talking about the scream, muffled yelling could be heard from above and Kai leaves silently to check it out.  
  
"Should we check it out?" questioned Max.  
  
"It could be a ghost!"  
  
"Augh! I hate ghosts! Remember that episode with Mr. Dressup was a ghost! He looked SO scary! I could barely recognize him!"  
  
"I KNOW! He scared me half to death!"  
  
"What if the ghost comes after us?!"  
  
"I dunno… but I don't wanna find out. We have to stick together!"  
  
"You mean, we have to stick with Kai."  
  
"Of course, that's what I meant."  
  
The boys looked over at the blank wall where Kai once stood.  
  
"KAI'S GONE!"  
  
"What if the ghost got him?!"  
  
"If the ghost gets him, what are the chances we'll get caught?"  
  
At this, Kenny opens up his laptop.  
  
"Care to give us the statistics, Dizzi?"  
  
"What do you think?" asked Dizzi.  
  
"100%!!!"  
  
"Well then, that's what it is… I mean, you ARE the chief and everything," replied Dizzi calmly and sarcastically.  
  
"Oh no!" cried the boys not finding the hidden sarcasm, "we'll have to save Kai then to raise our chances of being safe!"  
  
"That's not what I meant," said Dizzi quietly.  
  
The boys, too caught up with the situation didn't hear her.  
  
"Operation Save Kai will start in 3…" started Max.  
  
"How'd you get Operation Save Kai?" asked Tyson.  
  
Max shrugged and continued, "2… 1… START!"  
  
The boys stood there dumbly.  
  
"Uh… what are we suppose to do?" asked Kenny.  
  
"I dunno," said Max.  
  
"You came up with the idea!"  
  
"How about… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Max suddenly as he raised his arms above his head and started running around the room in circles.  
  
The two other boys shrugged and did the same.  
  
"KENNY!!!! PUT ME DOWN! YOU'RE GONNA SCRATCH ME!! I'M VERY DELICATE YOU KNOW!!"  
  
"Whoops, sorry Dizzi, I was caught up in the moment," apologized Kenny as he put his beloved laptop on the coffee table before resuming his panicking.  
  
Finding they were getting nowhere after a few minutes, they decide they should go find Kai before it's too late.  
  
---------------------------  
  
First chapter done! Please Review! ^^ 


	2. Of Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
Shower Curtains  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Back in the bathroom, Ray and Mariah were having a dispute.  
  
"What the heck are you doing here?!"  
  
"I've been assigned the role of being your inspector by the elders."  
  
"What for? There were no inspectors before!"  
  
Mariah shrugged, "I just do as they say. Mariah looked down at Ray.  
  
Ray, realizing he was naked, blushed as he pulled the shower curtain around him.  
  
"You like showers and not baths, eh?" She flipped open a notebook and jotted something down.  
  
"You don't have to inspect me when I'm taking a shower do you?"  
  
"Sure I do, the elders told me to inspect everything!" At that, Kai entered the room.  
  
"What's going on in here?" Seeing Mariah, Kai smirked, "Oh… I think I'll leave the two of you alone," turning around to leave.  
  
"What?! No! Kai! Don't leave me! Not with her!"  
  
"And what's wrong with me??" said Mariah threateningly.  
  
"Uh… nothing… it's just…"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"YOU'RE A GIRL!!!"  
  
"So… you have a problem with girls?"  
  
"N… No!!! It's just that… you… a girl… is in here… with me… in a bathroom… and… I…. I… I WAS SHOWERING!!!"  
  
"So…"  
  
"I'm naked!"  
  
"Then put on some clothes," Mariah said simply.  
  
"I'm not gonna wear clothes!" Kai and Mariah raised their eyebrows.  
  
"IN THE SHOWER!!!"  
  
Mariah laughed while Kai smirked, as Tyson, Max and Kenny entered the bathroom.  
  
"KAI!" yelled Tyson. Tyson ran to Kai hugging him tightly.  
  
"You're alive! We thought the ghost got you!"  
  
"Ghost?" asked Kai.  
  
"Yea! You know that high-pitched girly scream we heard earlier? That was a ghost!"  
  
Kai and Mariah snickered and Ray blushed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing," snickered Mariah.  
  
"Anyways, Kai! You're alright!" Tyson hugged Kai tighter. "I've never been so scared in my life! Don't scare us like that again! We were so worried!"  
  
Kai didn't pay any attention to Tyson's rambling. He was preoccupied with the task of prying Tyson off him with the help of Max and Kenny pulling at Tyson's feet. With one last tug, Kai was released from Tyson's grip. Kai was sent tumbling backwards and landed on Ray, who pulled off the shower curtain. Tyson fell on top of Max and Kenny. All the boys blushed furiously while Mariah rolled on the floor laughing.  
  
"Tyson! You need to go on a diet!" gasped Max.  
  
"Get off me! I can't breathe!" squeaked Kenny.  
  
Each of the boys hurrying to get up, they all glare at Mariah. The glare wasn't too effective because they were all still blushing.  
  
"NONE of us will speak of this incident. It never happened," said Kai clearly. The boys nodded.  
  
"Oh, come on! It was funny! It NEEDS to be retold!" exclaimed Mariah. Kai glared.  
  
"…No… I won't tell…" muttered Mariah as she looked down at the floor. The boys sighed in relief.  
  
"So, what are you doing here Mariah?" asked Max.  
  
"I'm here to inspect Ray!" said Mariah happily as she remembered her assignment.  
  
"Why, though?" asked Kenny.  
  
"How am I supposed to know? I don't question my elders. I only do what they say."  
  
"So, what have you observed so far?" asked Kai.  
  
Mariah cleared her throat as she flipped open her notebook. "Likes to sing altered songs while showering. Prefers showers over baths…" Mariah glanced behind Ray and scribbling as she was talking, "uses… L'Oréal… Kids… Shampoo… Tropical… Punch… for… extra… manageability…" Mariah glimpsed at the counter, "Ray uses L'Oréal Kids Burst of Cherry-Berry Styling Gel and L'Oréal Kids Burst of Sweet Pear Tangle Tamer too!"  
  
"So THAT'S how he gets his hair pokey and stuff!" exclaimed Tyson. Everyone nodded in agreement.  
  
"T… That's not mine!" stuttered Ray, "I…It's… It's…" Ray looked around at each person quickly, "MAX'S!!!"  
  
"What? That's not mine. I don't use THAT stuff. I use this!" Max opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle. It read "Johnson's Bath Bubbles Blue's Clues." Kai smirked at the new found knowledge while the others giggled. Max blushed.  
  
"If you don't use L'Oréal Kids, Ray, then what DO you use?" asked Mariah.  
  
"I… I…"  
  
"You know, your hair did smell like punch," said Kai quietly.  
  
"YOU SNIFFED HIS HAIR!?!?!" yelled Mariah.  
  
"Uh… no…I…the…the smell was overwhelming! It was hard not to notice it," Kai said quickly, finishing it with a slight blush.  
  
"Hm…" said Mariah suspiciously before turning back to Ray, "well?"  
  
"… fine… so that's my shampoo, big whoop," Ray muttered, defeated. Mariah smiled.  
  
"Let's see… soap…" Mariah glanced in the shower again, "sparkly pear Body Shop soap?!"  
  
"No wonder he smelled so fruity," mumbled Kai.  
  
"What'd you say Kai? I missed that," said Tyson.  
  
"Uh… nothing," said Kai, flustered.  
  
"Isn't Body Shop soap kinda… girly?" asked Max.  
  
"IT'S NOT GIRLY! IT'S GOOD SOAP! IT SMELLS NICE AND EVERYTHING! DON'T DISS THE SOAP! LEAVE THE SOAP ALONE! I USE IT! AND I'M A GUY!" shrieked Ray. They could hear Ray panting heavily. Everyone stood quietly, shocked by Ray's outburst… well, almost everyone.  
  
"Or are you?" Kai smirked.  
  
"Yea…Ray could be a girl. He's got the long hair… and the soap," pointed out Max.  
  
"I'M NOT A GIRL! GIRLS ARE—"  
  
"Girls are WHAT, Ray?" said Mariah threateningly.  
  
"Uh… are… made of sugar, spice and everything nice?" squeaked Ray.  
  
"So you WOULD be a girl!" exclaimed Kenny.  
  
"What!? How did you come up with that conclusion?" exclaimed Ray.  
  
"Well… fruit like pears are nice, aren't they? And all your soaps are fruity," Kenny simply said.  
  
"W… well… then Max's a girl too! He's on sugar highs all the time! Sugar's sweet!"  
  
"What? I'm not a girl!" blurted Max.  
  
"Sure…" Kenny rolled his eyes.  
  
Getting frustrated, Max said, "Then… Tyson's a girl! 'Cuz… 'cuz.. he eats all that food with sugar and spices and… everything nice! He's more of a girl than I am!"  
  
"Huh? What? I'm not a girl! Look at me! Do I look like a girl to you?!"  
  
"Yea… kinda… you know, with that ponytail and everything…" said Kenny.  
  
"IT'S NOT A PONYTAIL!"  
  
"Oh? Then what is it?" asked Mariah.  
  
"It… it's a hair extension!" said Tyson, feeling proud that he could come up with an answer.  
  
Mariah rolled her eyes, "GIRLS wear hair extensions." The boys minus Tyson laughed.  
  
Agitated, Tyson barked, "SHUT UP! Well… Kai's a girl… because… because…"  
  
"Because of what?" smirked Kai as he raised an eyebrow.  
  
"YOU WEAR MAKE-UP!"  
  
"It's not make-up you dolt! It's face paint! There's a difference!" defended Kai. Kai, not wanting to have more evidence calling him a girl, said, "Hm… seems like I'm stuck in a room with a bunch of girls… I'll leave you guys, I mean girls to your girl talk."  
  
"WE'RE NOT GIRLS!" Kai rolled his eyes and walked out.  
  
"Not all… I'm the most manly out of all of you guys," grinned Kenny proudly, "no one's called ME a girl yet."  
  
"Oh, but you ARE girly!" said Ray.  
  
"How?"  
  
Max grinned evilly, "Your voice."  
  
"My voice?" Kenny held his neck.  
  
"Your voice IS pretty high for a guy…" said Mariah.  
  
"IS NOT!"  
  
"Sure…"  
  
---------------------------  
  
Things are just going to get crazier since I really have no idea where this is heading. Hints of KaixRay coming up in the next chapter.  
  
Hope you enjoyed it! Please review! ^^ 


	3. Picture Perfect

Thanks to Koneko and silverjustice1 for reviewing… I really appreciated it :) Reviews make me feel happy inside ^^ at least SOMEONE's reading this. I feel noticed… anyways, enough with this, on with the story!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
Shower Curtains  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"Anyways," continued Mariah, "back to _Ray_… Do you—"  
  
"Do you guys MIND?" finished Ray.  
  
"Mind what?" asked Max.  
  
"Leaving the bathroom! I need to get dressed!"  
  
"But I'm your inspector! I _need_ to watch you!" said Mariah, adding quietly, "in more ways than one."  
  
"Well, I'm getting cold!"  
  
"Well then, we'll just have to get you dried off now don't we?" Tyson pulled out Dragoon and attached it to his launcher.  
  
"No! Tyson! Don't!" exclaimed Ray in horror.  
  
"LET IT RIP! DRAGOON! VICTORY TORNADO ATTACK!" yelled Tyson.  
  
"Um… what's he attacking?" whispered Max to Kenny as they struggled to stay on the ground.  
  
"I think it's the wall behind Ray… RAY! Don't move or Dragoon will hit you!"  
  
"AHHHHHH!!!!" Ray shut his eyes tightly, gripping the shower curtain for dear life, "so… breezy… so… cold…" Ray shivered. "Tyson! Tyson! Stop it! I'm dry now!"  
  
"No you aren't. You hair's still wet. Lemme get Dragoon closer…" said Tyson.  
  
"MY HAIR! YOU'RE GONNA CUT MY HAIR!" shouted Ray.  
  
A dark blue flash grazed Ray's nose and knocked Tyson's blade away from Ray. Bouncing off the walls, it was finally caught by Kai.  
  
"You shouldn't blade inside a bathroom. You already somehow opened the window and blew Ray's clothes out of it. You might hit someone too, and knowing your recklessness, the chances are pretty high."  
  
"Look who's talking… you bladed too!"  
  
"To stop you. You don't expect me to dive in front of your blade, do you?"  
  
"Well…" Tyson was lost for words, "…what are you doing here anyways? I thought you were going to leave us girls to our girl talk didn't you?"  
  
Kai smirked, "you just admitted you're all girls."  
  
"TYSON!" yelled the supposedly girls who glared at Tyson. Tyson cringed. Ray tied the shower curtain around him securely before stepping out of the tub. Deciding to go to his room for some clean clothes, he started to run out the door, when he slipped on the tiled floor landing on Kai. Ray's head, however, was unlucky enough to come into contact with the hard floor.  
  
"Hiya Kai! I love you!" said Ray in a childish voice, and snuggled up to Kai playing with his scarf.  
  
"Uh…" blushed Kai.  
  
Kenny opened his trusty laptop. "Dizzi, what do you think?"  
  
"Hm…" replied Dizzi, "I'm scanning Ray right now. It seems that he received a bump on the head a little too hard and has gone crazy… and that the cold's finally got to him. It could be because either one of those or a combination. You guys should take him to his room and put him to bed. Kai, since he's already on you, why don't you carry him?"  
  
"NO WAY! Kai! Get your hands off my Ray!" snapped Mariah.  
  
"Since when was Ray yours?" You two have never gone out," asked Max.  
  
"So… it… I…" stuttered Mariah, before becoming frustrated, "Kai! Hands OFF! I'll carry him!" Tyson, Max and Kenny went wide-eyed.  
  
Mariah rushed over to Ray. "Don't worry Ray, I won't let HIM touch you. You're—"  
  
"NOOOO!! Kai! Don't let her take me away!" Ray wrapped his arms around Kai, causing Kai to stiffen and blush further.  
  
"Ray… you don't know what you're talking about. I'm the good person here—"  
  
"NOOOO!! KAI! HELP!" Ray tightened his grip on Kai. Kai started to have difficulty breathing.  
  
"*GASP*help!*GASP*"  
  
"Ray's gonna kill Kai! Like the ghost! *GASP* That means Ray's the ghost! AHHH!!" Tyson began to run around in circles. Max and Kenny on the other hand, rolled their eyes at Tyson and went to pry Ray off their captain.  
  
"Geeze! Ray sure has a tight grip!" pointed out Max who pushed Mariah to the side and grabbed hold of Ray's leg.  
  
"Watch it Max. You don't want to pull the shower curtain off," warned Kenny.  
  
"Oh, right."  
  
"*GASP* HURRY *GASP* CAN'T *GASP* BREATH! *GASP*"  
  
"Serves you right! Hmpf!" said Mariah, sticking out her tongue at Kai and turning around with her arms crossed; when she remembered Ray was still on Kai. "Ray! Let go!"  
  
"KAI! SAVE MEEEEEE!!!!" exclaimed Ray tightening his grip even further, causing Kai to gasp before falling unconscious.  
  
"Ray's killed Kai! MURDER! MURDER! We gotta phone the police!" screamed Tyson, running out the door, only to be caught by his ponytail by Max. "AUGH! What was that for?"  
  
"Kai's not dead… yet. We're gonna get them to bed… hopefully it will make Ray normal and he'll loosen his grip, allowing Kai to breath."  
  
"How will we get them to their bedroom?" question Tyson.  
  
"We could leave them here…" said Mariah.  
  
"Don't be silly, Ray will definitely freeze here, and you don't want your BELOVED Ray to freeze do you?" said Kenny sarcastically.  
  
"How about this?" Max shifted Ray's legs so that they were aligned with Kai's. "Kenny, grab Kai's left leg and I'll grab the right. Tyson… grab Kai's arm and… Mariah, you grab the other arm."  
  
"And carry him? NO WAY!" said Mariah disgusted.  
  
"Then you'll be responsible for the murder of Ray AND Kai… as Ray's inspector, don't you have to look out for Ray as well?" asked Kenny.  
  
"… fine."  
  
With Ray on Kai and Kai suspended between the four, they carried the two to their room. Ray mumbled all the way. Gently placing Kai and Ray on one of the beds, they tucked the two in. The last thing they needed was Ray catching a cold and becoming crazier than he was already, and the death of their captain. Ray had shifted off Kai, and nuzzled him, scarf in hand.  
  
"Don't they look cute together? Kai's not yelling… Ray looks happy…" indicated Tyson.  
  
"No they aren't! Ray would look SO much better with me," muttered Mariah.  
  
"I think they look cute…" said Kenny as he opened his laptop. "Dizzi, capture this picture perfect moment."  
  
"Huh? Oo, they DO look cute. *click* I wonder what their reaction would be to the picture when they're back to normal…"  
  
~Tyson's Imagination~  
  
"AUGH! What the heck is this?! Tyson! You're gonna pay for this!" yelled Kai.  
  
"No… I didn't—"  
  
"I'm gonna kill you!"  
  
"But it wasn't—AUGH!!"  
  
~Kenny's Imagination~  
  
"What's this doing on your laptop? Kenny… you did this didn't you? I'll get you for this!" yelled Kai.  
  
~Max's Imagination~  
  
"Max! Why'd you lay me on Kai?! That's wrong!" shouted Ray.  
  
"This was your idea… YOU WILL FACE MY WRATH!" cried Kai.  
  
The boys shuddered at the thoughts. Mariah on the other hand, created something else in her mind.  
  
~Mariah's Imagination~  
  
"Whoa! What's this? I'm with Kai?! I can't believe I did that! Oh, Mariah, I'm SO sorry. Let me give you a hug—"  
  
A dreamy look appeared on Mariah's face as she sighed.  
  
"Kenny?" asked Tyson.  
  
"I'm on it," replied Kenny quickly. Kenny decided to put the picture in folders of folders of folders, which were each password protected. "Dizzi, guard it. If you don't… I'll infect you with a virus."  
  
"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!" replied Dizzi.  
  
"Oh yes, I would."  
  
"But you neeeeeed MEEE!!!"  
  
"I can always backup all my files and get another laptop," grinned Kenny.  
  
"Okay, Okay! I'll guard it. Promise there'll be no virus!"  
  
"I promise."  
  
Mariah, snapping out of her dreamy state at Dizzi's yell, realized what was going on and protested.  
  
"But they DESERVE to know the truth!"  
  
"Maybe so, but it'll end up in OUR murder if they find out," exclaimed Max.  
  
"Look, this'll how it'll be if we tell," pointed out Tyson, "Us equals *SPLAT*" Tyson smacked his hand together. Max and Kenny cringed.  
  
"Fine…" said Mariah, not liking the sound of the result. She couldn't risk her relationship with Ray if it turned out that their way was right.  
  
The bladers left the boys on the bed in peace, in hopes that they'd recover soon.  
  
---------------------------  
  
Please tell me what you think. I need all the tips I can get. 


	4. The Insanity Begins

Yay!!! Reviews!!! ^^ I feel so much better now XD  
  
kaiswings: Nope, not RayxMariah. My friend would kill me if I wrote one of those… literally… just uttering her name sends her off the edge…and besides, I like KaixRay way more than Rayxher. I don't know if this fic'll turn out to be KaixRay, but there will be hints of it for sure.  
  
RzSweetKissiz: I'm glad you enjoyed it. More sense, eh? It's not exactly in my expertise but I'll try my best. My weird sense of humour's made it hard to make sense.  
  
silverjustice1: Yes… mainly fuelled by reviews. I'm starting to run low on ideas and it'll take me a while before I think of something… so expect the update rate to slow a little… sry bout that ^^;;  
  
Gabrella: Thanks for reviewing. More is on the way… much much more… mainly insanity for Kai, but there will be more.  
  
lone*phoenix1: Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you liked it ^^  
  
Mazzy: Humour is what I write best :)  
  
Alrighty, and on with the show!!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
Shower Curtains  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Ray slowly opened his eyes. Everything was pitch black around him, and so, he had no idea where he was. All of a sudden, a tiger with a brilliant snow-white coat appeared sleeping in front of him. Ray gasped, amazed at the beauty of the tiger. The tiger woke up at the sudden noise, and turned its attention to him. Seeing Ray, it looking at him warmly. Ray tried to reach out, only to be stopped by an invisible net. Stupefied, Ray started struggling against the invisible barrier, when it all came loose in his hands. He tossed the invisible net behind him. Looking up, Ray saw that the blackness was replaced by a magnificent cloudless blue sky. There was a bright green meadow filled with wild flowers of all shapes and sizes that stretched as far as the eye could see. A light breeze blew through the meadow. The tiger was now patiently sitting in the vast field of flowers. Free at last, Ray bent down at the tiger's side. He nuzzled his face into the warm body of the tiger. Ray stroked the tiger gently, feeling the warmth of the tiger's body against his own. The warm, comforting, furless—  
  
"Furless?" thought Ray.  
  
Kai's eyes snapped open at the feeling of someone close to him. Kai looked down at his chest to see Ray there mid-nuzzle and mid-stroke while Ray's eyes snapped open to meet his own. Looking at each other, they both blushed and quickly shifted to either side of the bed. Ray bumped into the shower curtain he was wearing before. Puzzled at first, they both realized that Ray was naked under the covers, which made them blush even harder. Ray was the more embarrassed of the two. He tried to move back, but that only made him fall off the bed. Surprised, Kai looked over the edge of the bed to see if Ray was all right. Staring up at him was clean skin of… Ray's butt. Ray had landed sprawled out in an awkward position, clutching the covers. Kai sat back closing his eyes and chanting quietly to himself, "I didn't see that, I didn't see that."  
  
"K… Kai?" asked Ray weakly.  
  
Kai broke his chant. Not wanting to have the same sight meet his eyes, he cast his eyes away from Ray and asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Mhm," mumbled Ray.  
  
"Good. Now we are not to speak of this again. Understand?"  
  
"I wouldn't have it any other way," replied Ray. Ray reached up with a weak and shaking hand, until it collapsed into Kai's lap. Kai was taken aback.  
  
"Kai… you mind giving me a hand?" Kai didn't respond. He was still overcome with shock.  
  
"Kai? Are you still there?" Ray started to move his hand around in search for Kai. His hand slowly crept up Kai's leg. Kai stiffened slightly and he held his breath; he was still unable to do anything. The image of Ray's bottom was vivid in his mind. Ray's hand slowly stretched out so that it was between Kai's legs, which finally caused Kai to snap out of his trance. Kai roughly pushed Ray's hand away. Taking a deep breath, Kai got up off the bed and left the room.  
  
"Kai… Kai? You still there?" mumbled Ray. When he didn't receive an answer, Ray struggled to get up on his knees and peeked onto the bed. "Kai? Now where did he go off to?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kai walked down the hallways quickly. He needed fresh air… quick. He burst out the back door into the backyard, panting slightly. Letting the fresh air fill his senses, he relaxed slightly.  
  
He climbed a nearby tree and sat on in the higher branches, not wanting to be bothered. Closing his eyes, he became lost in his thoughts.  
  
Ray had nuzzled him, stroked him, mooned him though probably not on purpose, and… touched him… did Ray have the hots for him? Ray's behind started to resurface in his head. Snapping his eyes open, Kai shook the image from his head. Sighing, he leaned back onto the trunk of the tree. A cool breeze blew through the leaves, brushing his face.  
  
Thinking back, he remembered how he and Ray would be together. They would always share rooms when traveling together for tournaments. In Russia, he woke up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare and Ray was already awake asking what was the matter. Awake… was Ray thinking about him? When they stayed at Tyson's place, even when he moved his mat farthest away from the boys, Ray would always shift his mat so that he would be closest to him. Ray usually stood or sat beside him when they were spectators at matches. He never noticed it before, but now that he thought about it, it all seemed clear. The closeness, the actions…Ray liked him. That means Ray's… gay. But… he didn't feel the same way about him. He wasn't gay… was he? Ray was nice and rational and all, but… to be gay with him. Kai was confused. He pulled at his hair in frustration. He didn't know what to do. Should he approach Ray? Or should he just see what Ray does? Getting a headache from all the thinking, Kai jumped down from the tree and went into the kitchen to get some Aspirin. Right now, he needed a nice shower and to stay away from Ray until he got his thoughts figured out… which could turn out to be never.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ray was looking for something to wear. The clothes in the bathroom were now dirty since Tyson had blown them out the window. Looking through his closet, he found that he didn't have any clean clothes to wear. Then it hit him.  
  
"Darn it! That Tyson! He's got laundry duty this week! He always leaves it to the last minute AFTER Kai yells at him. The clothes that were in the bathroom were my last clean ones! Just perfect! First Mariah comes to do some odd investigation thingy, and now I've got no clothes to wear!" exclaimed Ray, annoyed, "This sure won't look good on Mariah's report…maybe I'll borrow a few of Kai's clothes…"  
  
Ray looked out the door to make sure that Kai was still in the bathroom and that Mariah wasn't lurking around. Closing the door quickly, Ray zipped over to Kai's closet. Opening the door, he realized that Kai's closet was a walk in closet. Switching on the light, Ray saw that most of the clothes inside were of Kai's normal attire: black muscle shirt, black belts with silver buckles, and turquoise pants with large pockets on either side, (1st season outfit! I don't really like the outfits in the other seasons, so bear with me) but there were clothes of all sorts in Kai's closet. Stepping in, he saw clothing for all sorts of occasions. Clothes ranging from sleep wear to tuxedos, summer wear to winter wear, and clothes from all around the world. There was bound to be something in here that was Chinese. All the different types of clothing in the closet fascinated Ray. He never knew someone who always seemed to wear the same clothes everyday could have suck a wide variety. If it were him, he would have rotated his outfits everyday.  
  
Looking around while heading towards the back of the closet, something caught his eye. Taking a closer look, he realized it was a Halloween costume. It was very old. Ray blew some dust off as he took it off the shelf. Unfolding it, he revealed a silky sleeveless black top and a tight black jacket. The tight black pants were shiny and had a long thin tail protruded from the rear. He noticed a pair of cat-like ears slipped into the pocket of the jacket and some fuzzy black paws on the shelf behind him. Ray put on the ears and the paws. They were very comfortable. His curiosity taking the better of him, Ray decided to try on the costume… but first… some boxers. Wandering around, he found a pile of boxers. Choosing a pair with red feathers, Ray slipped them on. They were a bit too big for him, but it was better than nothing. Ray began to put on the costume. It was a little tighter than he expected. Giving up on the pants for a moment, Ray slipped on the shirt and the jacket. He had a little difficulty breathing, but that was just a little sacrifice in order to wear the complete costume. Looking at the pants lying on the floor, Ray picked them up and looked at them threateningly.  
  
"You WILL fit me! I WILL get you on! I don't care how long it takes! I WILL wear you!"  
  
Ray began to put on the pants normally, but they wouldn't slide on. He began jumping around bumping into racks and shelves causing them to fall down, but Ray ignored them. Ray sat down on the ground tugging the pant leg up. It wasn't going anywhere.  
  
"Grrrrr."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Ray began to pull on the pant leg like crazy.  
  
"Come on you stupid pair of pants! FIT!" Slowly but surely, one leg had slipped into the pair of pants. Ray rejoiced.  
  
"Yes! One pant leg down!" Ray looked down at the limp pant leg and scowled, "and one more to go."  
  
This leg was harder to put on than the other. His previous method of "pulling on the pant leg like crazy" wasn't working, so Ray resorted to shoving his leg through. Jumping up and down, Ray tried to shove his leg through the remaining pant leg, occasionally bumping into objects. Suddenly, half of his leg went into the pant leg. Ray grinned and punched a fist into the air, which caused him to lose balance.  
  
"Uh oh." Flailing his arms in search for something to hang on to, his hands finally clung onto a shirt. He hung there, partially suspended in air. Ray tried to use the leg that was actually in the pair of pants to push himself off the ground, but that only resorted to further slippage, when the shirt he was clinging on to began to slip off the hanger. Desperately trying to get up caused the shirt to slip off its hanger completely resulting in a deafening crash as Ray fell onto the ground.  
  
Cursing himself, Ray rubbed his backside. Ray struggled to put on the pants, not caring if he was completely bruised afterwards. After bumping into shelves and creating a great racquet and mess, the pants inched up, until they were completely on. Ray, beaming, stood up. They were uncomfortably tight. He glanced in the mirror at the end of the closet. The costume conformed to his figure, but rather tightly. He didn't mind. He smiled at himself. He looked more like a cat than before. He took the long and sleek tail in hand. It was made of the softest material he had ever felt. Ray nuzzled the tail. Turning around, he made for the door. He wanted to show off the costume. However, with the first step, Ray tripped and fell. The costume was too tight for Ray to move around easily. Falling, he crashed into the side of a shelf causing it to tip. Then, like dominos, shelf bumped into shelf, and racks and everything came tumbling down with a crash.  
  
Next thing he knew, Mariah appeared at the closet door, eyes wide in shock. It looked like a tornado had ripped through the closet. Cautiously taking a step inside, she looked around looking. Clothes littered the floor. Shelves had tipped over spilling its contents onto the ground.  
  
"MARIAH!"  
  
Mariah jumped. Turning around, she saw Kai. He wore nothing but a fluffy white towel around his waist. His hair was flopped down dripping with water and he was fuming.  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CLOSET?!"  
  
"It… it wasn't me! I heard a crash. And then it seemed to come from in here. And then I looked in the closet and it was a mess. I didn't do it!" rushed Mariah.  
  
Faintly, the two heard something shift in the closet. Looking in, they saw nothing. A large shelf was blocking their view. Kai stepped into the closet and moved the shelf aside, to reveal a timid Ray in the corner.  
  
"Heh heh… oopsies?" squeaked Ray.  
  
"RAY!? What are you doing in here?" Kai and Mariah exclaimed in unison.  
  
Struggling to get up, Ray replied fearfully, "well… Tyson hasn't done the laundry yet, and I didn't have any clothes to wear. So I came in here to look for something to wear. And then I saw this costume, and I wanted to try it on. And it was really tight and so I had trouble with it. And…" Ray stopped. Mariah had flipped open her notebook and began to scribble furiously. Kai looked at the notebook and read out what she was writing.  
  
"Lacks… clothing… searches… through… roommate's closet… without… permission… and likes… to wear… clothing… too… small… for him… wreaks… havoc."  
  
"Hey! It's not my fault!" protested Ray, "Tyson didn't do the laundry! And… and… don't I look cute in this costume?" asked Ray standing so they could clearly see him.  
  
"You look absolutely adorable!" exclaimed Mariah admiringly. Kai on the other hand had his thoughts from earlier that day racing through his head. Ray was now snooping through his stuff and trying on clothes, a REALLY tight costume to be exact. Kai staggered back. Turning around, he left for the bathroom once again.  
  
"What's the matter with him?" asked Mariah watching him leave.  
  
"I dunno," shrugged Ray, "anyways, I should take this thing off."  
  
"Wait! Wait! Wait! I wanna picture!" Mariah ran off only to bump into Tyson, Max and Kenny.  
  
"What's the rush, Mariah?" asked Max.  
  
"Ooo! Kenny… can you take a picture of Ray for me with Dizzi?"  
  
"Um… alright…" said Kenny uncertainly. The group went to Kai's closet.  
  
"Whoa! What happened in here? It looks like Dragoon battled in here or something," said Tyson in awe.  
  
"It's a long story." Tyson, Max and Kenny looked up to see who it was, "Ray! What happened in here?" they looked at him up and down, "or better, tell us what you're doing in that."  
  
"I'll explain later. Hurry up Mariah."  
  
"'Kay. Kenny? You wanna take a picture?" Kenny nodded and held Dizzi up to face Ray. Ray held his tail and looked shyly at the camera.  
  
"Smile Ray. 3-2-1-Click! Save… all done. Now. Ray, you mind changing? It's kinda… it IS disturbing. It's just a _little_ too tight around some areas…" said Dizzi, "Maybe we should put this picture with the other one, Kenny."  
  
"Other picture?" came a voice. Everyone turned around. They couldn't see anyone, but they could tell it was Kai.  
  
"What other picture?"  
  
"Uh oh," muttered Tyson.  
  
"There's no picture. Dizzi has no idea what she's talking about! Isn't that RIGHT Dizzi?" gritted Kenny through his teeth.  
  
"What are YOU talking about? There's that picture that you told me to guard that's got—" Dizzi was turned off.  
  
"Heh heh… Dizzi's got some sort of malfunction… I… should go fix it…" Kenny ran off.  
  
"We'll help you!" Tyson and Max trailed after Kenny after receiving odd looks from Ray and a threatening glare from Mariah.  
  
"Since when did Tyson know anything about computers?" wondered Ray. Shrugging that thought off, Ray began to take the costume off. Mariah left Ray to his privacy and re-entered the bedroom. She wanted to ask why Kai had a cat costume in his closet in the first place. Looking around, she noticed that Kai had disappeared.  
  
"Odd."  
  
"Mariah!" Mariah turned back to the closet. Ray had gotten tangled in the costume. Laughing, Mariah went over to Ray and helped him out.  
  
When Ray had finally got out of the costume, he saw he had bright red impressions from the costume all over his body. Mariah was busy googling at Ray's body while Ray, grimacing, decided he should clean up the mess. Ray stood up and the boxers he was wearing started to slip off. Catching them, Ray started muttering to himself about belts for boxers. Mariah handed him a belt from the ground still googling at Ray, and Ray, not noticing Mariah's weird behaviour, took it graciously, and fastened it around his waist.  
  
"You wanna help me clean this mess up? I don't want to meet Kai's wrath."  
  
Snapping out of her trance momentarily, Mariah answered, "Not particularly, but I'll help anyways since you looked SOOO cute in that kitty costume," then Mariah thought, "and besides, it's some valuable alone time I get to spend with my beloved Ray." Mariah shifted closer to Ray, and in doing so, together they cleaned up the closet.  
  
------------------------------  
  
A chapter longer than usual. That's because I don't think I'll be updating soon since my parents are starting to get on my case about it. So much for being fuelled by reviews :S… this last chapter just seemed to really suck to me… especially the last part, but I can't really think of a way to fix it at the moment. Anyways, please review! 


	5. The Costume

slyslicra: Well, I really have no idea when it will end. I could make Mariah stay for a LONG time and cause more problems. I'll take my time though. Thanks for reviewing. ^^  
  
lone*phoenix1: haha… more reviews… that'd be good :) As for Ray… he'd look cute, that's for sure. Disturbingly cute… tho…  
  
D@rK EyES- DeMoN U wOn't 4GeT: I'm updating… tho I'd update faster if there were more reviews… :S… usually I have the next chapter ready after I update.  
  
Angry Koneko: watch it kitty… calm down… sheesh… no one else was in the room and so, Ray had to call on Mariah. I'd have Kai help Ray, but he's a bit paranoid about him at the moment.  
  
silverjustice1: My random ideas are that obvious, eh? I hope it and my oddness is a good thing… oh well, it'll all tie up in the end… it should anyways… thx for recommending my fic ^^ makes me feel appreciated :)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
Shower Curtains  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Kai went out for a walk. He was going crazy. He was convinced that Ray had something for him. Ray had tried on that old costume Tala made him wear once.  
  
**Flashback**  
  
The night was cool. Stars glittered in the midnight sky, as a full moon shone down on two little boys. Kai and Tala were practicing outside the abbey. Boris had forced them to practice late into the night until they could smash open a large boulder in the middle of the courtyard.  
  
"Come on! Smash open already! I'm getting tired!" whined Tala as Wolborg fell lifeless to the ground after smacking into the boulder. The boulder was covered in numerous scratches and indents from their blades. They had attacked it many times, but the boulder still stood up.  
  
"Darn it!" Dranzer had chipped off a small chunk of stone and flew into the bushes.  
  
Groaning, Kai went to retrieve Dranzer. Looking through the bushes, he found his blade lying beside something dark on the floor.  
  
"Hey, Tala! I found something. Come here!"  
  
"What is it?" asked Tala as he took a glimpse at the object. Grabbing a branch on the ground, Kai poked at it.  
  
"It's not alive… it looks like a skin…" Tala reached forward and grabbed the 'skin'.  
  
"Watch it Tala! It could be poisonous!" yelled Kai cringing away. Tala held it up in front of him for Kai to see.  
  
"It's okay Kai. I'm fine. This looks like some sort of clothing… hey, isn't this one of those Halloween costumes we've heard about from some of the older kids? They said costumes are clothes that people put on that make them look like something else. They wear them at the end of October and walk from door to door getting candy. This one looks like it's suppose to be a cat."  
  
"Yea… it does," said Kai relaxing slightly, "I wonder what it's doing out here."  
  
"I dunno," replied Tala. Staring at the limp costume, Tala said, "You know… it's the end of October…"  
  
"Yeah… so?"  
  
"Halloween's here," Tala grinned mischievously, "put it on and go get some candy for us. I heard candy's supposed to taste really good."  
  
"What!? No way! I'm not putting THAT thing on. Who knows where it's been! How exactly do people go from door to door… wasn't there a certain line that they had to say to get candy? Um…"  
  
"Trick or treat."  
  
"Oh yea… anyways, sure I'd like some candy, but right now it's past midnight. Everyone's probably sleeping."  
  
"Oh well, so much for that candy," sighed Tala, " but you COULD still wear it."  
  
"Why me? Why don't YOU wear it?" asked Kai.  
  
"'Cuz I told you to."  
  
"That doesn't mean a thing."  
  
"Aww, come on Kai! Pwetty pwetty pweeze?" Tala put his hands together and looked up at Kai hopefully.  
  
"Stop it! I hate it when you do that. You look so pathetic! If Boris saw you, you'd be in BIG trouble."  
  
"But he's NOT here, so it doesn't matter. So, pweeeeze?" Tala battered his eyelashes.  
  
"Augh! Fine fine. You are NOT to speak of this to anyone. If you do, I'll drag you down with me, and you know I will."  
  
"Yay!" Tala clapped his hands.  
  
Grumbling, Kai took the costume from Tala. "Look away." Tala turned around dancing on the spot, happy that Kai was going to obey him for once and that he'll be able to see Kai in a costume.  
  
"You can look now."  
  
Tala swished around. There, in front of him, was Kai looking depressed in the costume. The sleeves had dangled past his fingertips, while the pants dragged on the floor.  
  
"Put on the ears in that pocket… oh and don't forget the paws!" Kai obeyed, but looked more depressed than ever.  
  
"Awww… don't YOU look cute," said Tala in a girly voice.  
  
Kai blushed and said quietly, "shut up."  
  
Tala grinned. Suddenly, a rustling could be heard behind him. The boys looked up in surprise.  
  
"Oh no!" whispered Kai, "someone's gonna see me!" Kai spun around quickly for a place to hide, and jumped behind a boulder when a teenage girl appeared.  
  
"Oh, hello there," she said, "what's a little boy like you doing out here?"  
  
Tala blushed at the sight of the girl.  
  
"Not one to talk now, are you? You should probably go home. Your parents are probably worried about you. It's really late right now."  
  
"I don't have any parents," whispered Tala.  
  
"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't know," there was an awkward silence between the two, "… um, have you seen a glow stick around here? I think I dropped one around here while I was chasing my little brother." Tala shook his head. Suddenly, a little glow stick rolled out from behind the boulder to the girl's feet.  
  
"Huh? That's my glow stick! What…" the girl picked up her glow stick and looked at the boulder, "is anyone there?"  
  
A faint, "uh oh," could be heard from behind the boulder. Tala grinned. "Oh Kai!!! Come on out from there!" sang Tala.  
  
Two little kitty ears popped up from behind the boulder, slowly followed by a pair of crimson eyes. When the eyes glimpsed the girl, they disappeared behind the boulder once again. The girl walked up to the boulder and said gently, "hey there. Come out from there. I'm not going to bite." Hesitating, Kai slowly stood up.  
  
"Awww… you look SO adorable!" squealed the girl. Kai blushed. (I drew a picture of Kai in this scene! If you wanna see, I can send it to you.) "I wish I could get a picture. You're the cutest thing I've ever seen! You even got little triangles on your face too like some kitty cats. Ohhhhh… I wish I could stay longer, but I have to go home now. My mom's going to get mad. Thanks for finding my glow stick. Bye!" The girl waved and disappeared into the bushes.  
  
"You look SO adorable!" mocked Tala after the girl was out of earshot.  
  
"Shut up." Kai took off the costume. "You made me look like a dolt! Why did you tell her where I was?"  
  
"I didn't tell her exactly where you were… but I wanted her to see how ADORABLE you were." Kai narrowed his eyes at the word.  
  
"I'll get you for this Tala! I'll shove this stupid thing onto you if it kills me!" Kai draped the costume over his shoulder and chased Tala into the courtyard. Tala ran in circles around the scratched up boulder.  
  
"Get back here!" yelled Kai. Becoming fed up, Kai put Dranzer in his launcher.  
  
"Uh oh," muttered Tala.  
  
"Go DRANZER!!" Dranzer flew into the air and grazed by Tala and smacked into the boulder. *SMASH* The boulder had crumbled into dust. Tala covered his head with his arms, coughing from all the dust, when someone nailed him to the ground. Tala felt something being shoved roughly onto his head. His arms became pinned to his sides when he was pulled up onto his feet. When the dust settled, Tala looked at himself. The black shirt from the costume was shoved on him backwards and the ears sat on his head crooked. The paws were on the wrong hands and both of his legs were shoved into one pant leg.  
  
"… I guess that will do… for now anyways," said Kai turning around and picking up Dranzer.  
  
"Hey, at least we know how to smash a rock. We just need to dress you up in this costume and shove you into a crowd," called Tala to Kai.  
  
"You do and you die." Kai walked towards the abbey.  
  
"Um… Kai… KAI! Can you help me outta this? Kai! Come on Kai! I'm… a little tied up at the moment!" Tala chuckled at his joke. As Tala looked up again, he saw Kai disappear into the abbey.  
  
"Hey, Kai! I was just kidding! Come on! Help me out! Best friends help each other out! Kai! Please help me. Kai! KAI!!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!"  
  
**End Flashback**  
  
Kai smiled at the memory. It was one of the best experiences he had at the abbey, and there weren't very many of those.  
  
Tala had stuck the costume in his bag when he was kicked out of the abbey, with a note attached to it saying, "Just a little reminder of the good times."  
  
"I can't believe he kept it," smiled Kai. Relaxing, Kai returned to the house to grab a bite to eat. The day's events had clouded his mind from his stomach, and he now realized he was hungry.  
  
Walking in, he saw the fridge door open and Tyson sitting on the ground in front of it, wolfing down whatever he could get his hands on. The bottom two shelves of the fridge were completely empty. Kai grimaced at the sight of Tyson. Tyson had crumbs plastered around his face due to the sticky juice. His hands were covered in sauces and his shirt looked like a mixture of food.  
  
Opening a cabinet door, Kai pulled down some ingredients and made a meal for himself. A pleasant aroma started to fill the house. Tyson sniffed the air and looked up.  
  
"Oh, Kai. Didn't see you come in."  
  
"Figures." Tyson looked at what Kai was doing. His eyes bulged. Kai was cooking! And it looked good.  
  
"Hey… um… Kai… whatcha making? It looks good. Can I have some?"  
  
"Spaghetti and no." Kai turned off the stove and plopped the spaghetti onto a plate.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You've eaten half the fridge, you don't need anymore food."  
  
"But I'm still hungry."  
  
Kai frowned, "too bad. My spaghetti."  
  
"Hey guys. Something smells good in here." It was Max. "Oo… spaghetti… can I have some, Kai?"  
  
"All mine." Kai grabbed a fork from the drawer.  
  
"Aww…"  
  
"Come on, Kai, share!"  
  
"No."  
  
"What a great friend you turned out to be," muttered Tyson.  
  
"Lighten up, Tyson," laughed Max, "this IS Kai after all."  
  
"Yea…"  
  
"Something smells good in here." Ray arrived in the kitchen with Mariah clinging onto his arm. Shaking Mariah off, Ray walked up to Tyson.  
  
"Nice clothes, Ray," snickered Tyson pointing at Ray's belt and boxers.  
  
"Same goes for you," said Ray pointing at Tyson's shirt, "have you guys seen Kai? I wanna ask him if I could borrow some of his clothes."  
  
"NOW you ask," said Tyson shaking his head.  
  
"Kai? He's…" Max looked around but Kai was nowhere to be seen, "well, he WAS here. That's odd… he left his spaghetti here too…"  
  
"REALLY?!" exclaimed Tyson. Tyson struggled onto his feet and made a grab for the plate, only to miss and send the plate flying.  
  
"My spaghetti!" The plate of spaghetti landed on Tyson's head with a loud splat.  
  
Tomato sauce dripped down his face and the spaghetti noodles were everywhere. Tyson licked the side of his mouth, tasting the sauce, when his eyes lightened.  
  
"Yummy!"  
  
Everyone sweat-dropped.  
  
------------------------------  
  
That's that. Yea, so if you wanna see that pic of Kai, just review n tell me… don't forget to leave your email. Oh, and it's a picture of Kai as a chibi… cuz… well… I can only draw chibis ^^;; 


	6. The Drenched Pink Kitty

Weeee! Reviews! XD  
  
Rei-Azn-Koi: haha… your not the only one who hates her. Mariah bashing! I'll work that in… somehow… ^^ I'm glad you liked my story, though.  
  
Babs: Thanks for reviewing ^^ The next chappy's on its way! XD  
  
silverjustice1: throw me into a kitty suit? I'm updating I'm updating!! (not saying that I wouldn't mind too much about being thrown into a kitty suit) as for the stalking… heh heh… I think I'd prefer updating ^^;;  
  
Shaman Wolf: I'm pleased you liked it. I hope you like the next chapter.  
  
keisan: kai's in character? Really? I thought I put him out of character a little…:) and the Tyson bashing? It wasn't really intended to be Tyson bashing… I guess it just comes naturally ^^;;  
  
Akina Akimoto: Glad you liked it :) Thanks for reviewing.  
  
Misty-kiki: Kai? Find out by reading this chapter. ;)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
Shower Curtains  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Kai ran out the door, panting. He didn't feel he could face Ray just yet.  
  
"Shoot! I left my spaghetti on the counter!" realized Kai as he looked back at the house. His stomach growled. Shoving his hand in his pocket, he took out his wallet. Opening it, he saw a picture of the Bladebreakers. He was sulking in the back as usual, but Ray… was awfully close to him… shaking his head, Kai counted his cash and went to a nearby restaurant for something to eat.  
  
Stepping inside an Italian restaurant, Kai sat down at a nearby table by a window. He placed an order of spaghetti, and waited patiently, gazing out the window.  
  
~*Kai's POV*~  
  
Let's see… update… Ray's gone through my closet, was in bed with me, naked, he… augh! I can't stop thinking about him! I need to get him out of my head! I left home so I could get away from him! Yet he still follows me everywhere… in my head… I don't like him. I mean, I'm straight… aren't I? What? Of course I'm straight! I wouldn't think about becoming gay! No way! So I grew up with boys and only boys, but that doesn't mean anything! I mean, I've known Tala for so long, and I we haven't become… too… intimate… have we? Oh… how close is close anyways?! I didn't have any real caring person in my life. I barely remember what my parents look like and much less the way they treated me. Voltaire's only told me stories about how they treated me. How they would always hurt me. But my parents wouldn't do something like that to their own child, would they? Well, I guess if you're in Voltaire's family, I guess it could run in the family after all that Voltaire's done to me. But still… I have no idea what it means to be close… to actually… love someone… if only someone could be there… NO! No! At the abbey, they trained us to be cold and heartless. No feelings whatsoever. So… what am I worried about? I've got no feelings. Yea… that's right. I've got no feelings… not for anyone, or anything… except Dranzer… but Dranzer's my bit-beast! That's an exception. And my team… the Bladebreakers… I have feelings for each and everyone of them… well, not Tyson, but the others… including Ray… no! No feelings for any of the Bladebreakers. I only protect them because that's a duty of the captain of the team. Yes… that's it. I have no feelings for them whatsoever. Especially not Tyson. That pig… sitting in front of the fridge with the door wide open… stuffing himself… I don't know how he even got on the team… and much less beat me! I let my guard down… that's what. I saw him pigging out on cake on his birthday the first year I knew him. I assumed he was just a weakling amateur like the rest of them. Then he beat me. It was a fluke. He was lucky, that's what. Dranzer landed on the edge of the dish and just tipped out, while Dragoon landed on the edge to fall into the dish. Dranzer was still spinning too. Tyson will pay. I'll beat him fair and square and reclaim my title as the champion. I'll wipe that smirk right off his chubby face… oh… and the training… I'll make him train until he's dead. Oh… that would be so sweet… first I'd—  
  
~*Normal POV*~  
  
The waiter had been standing beside the table for some time. He had placed the food down in front of Kai, but Kai took no notice of it. The waiter waved his hand in front of Kai's face and Kai still didn't move. The waiter watched as Kai shook his head like he was disagreeing with something, and looked sad, disgusted, and angry. The confused waiter stood beside Kai, wondering whether to leave him like he was, or snap him out of his dream. Kai didn't look like he was having the happiest of reveries at the time, so the waiter decided to bring him back to earth.  
  
The waiter tapped Kai lightly on the shoulder, calling out gently, "Sir… sir… your spaghetti's here. Sir… sir…" Still, no response, a crazed look appeared on Kai's face, and the waiter stepped back slightly, before approaching the boy again. "Um… sir… sir…" Kai was starting to get on the waiter's nerves. The waiter spoke louder and poked Kai harder, "Sir. Your spaghetti's here." A big smirk grew on Kai's face, but the waiter was too preoccupied to notice, and yelled, "Sir!"  
  
Kai snapped out of his thoughts and whipped around, pushing the waiter back. The waiter, took by surprise, stumbled and fell down onto a table, making some bread sticks fly up into the air and land one by one onto the waiter's head. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow."  
  
Kai looked surprised as he looked down at the poor waiter who slowly got back up, rubbing his head. "Sorry, sir," apologized Kai, "instincts."  
  
"You'd better be sorry. Next time, don't apologize… just don't do it," grumbled the man as he walked away.  
  
Kai sighed and looked down at his spaghetti. His stomach growled at the sight of it. Kai glared at his stomach, "you're turning into Tyson." Sighing again, Kai ate his spaghetti, contemplating the numerous ways he could torture Tyson.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Everyone was in the kitchen cleaning. Tyson had made quite a mess in there. Especially after the flying spaghetti. Tyson wasn't helping at all. He would be dragged somewhere to clean under close supervision by someone, and somehow, he still disappears. Disappearing into the fridge that is.  
  
"TYSON! You have to help us clean up! This is your mess!" exclaimed Max.  
  
Tyson pouted. "Aww… come on guys… I'm hungry…"  
  
"You're ALWAYS hungry," said Ray.  
  
"So? That's why I gotta eat."  
  
"Couldn't you at least eat neatly? So that we wouldn't have to clean up after you?"  
  
"I don't know how."  
  
"You… don't know how."  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Oh, boy."  
  
"Let's teach Tyson how to eat properly!" said Max.  
  
"Yea… AFTER we finish cleaning."  
  
"Oh, yea…" remembered Max.  
  
After a few more hours, the kitchen was spick and span. It was getting late and Ray decided to start on dinner, with the unneeded help from Mariah, while the other boys decided to tie Tyson down to a chair so that he wouldn't make a mess.  
  
Tyson was struggling against his bonds. His arms were pinned against his sides, and his legs were tied to the chair legs.  
  
"I'm hungry!" cried Tyson.  
  
"We all are. That's why Ray's making dinner now. And at dinner, we'll tell you how to eat properly."  
  
"Ray's cooking? Oh, Raaaaayyyyyyy!!!" sang Tyson, "mind giving a taste test?"  
  
"Yes, I do mind. Now sit and behave. You're not getting anything." Tyson scowled, "Meanie."  
  
Ray rolled his eyes and put on an apron, covering his bare chest. Mariah frowned.  
  
"Mariah, would you mind giving me a little more arm room? I can barely move with you so close."  
  
"Huh? Sorry, but… but.. I have to stay close. I'm your inspector."  
  
"… yea, but do you have to stay THIS close?!" asked Ray motioning to the virtually no space between the two of them.  
  
"Of course! Elder requirements!" Ray grumbled. Mariah, noticing Ray's discomfort, pulled out her handy-dandy… notebook! (A/N: haha… Blue's Clues! I'm sorry… I just had to put that in there. For those of you guys who've never seen/heard of Blue's Clues… don't worry about it. It's got nothing to do with the fic.) "Okay. Would you care to tell me what your cooking, Ray?" said Mariah sweetly sickeningly, battering her eyelashes and leaning into Ray. Ray leaned away.  
  
"I'll end up cooking you if you don't get away."  
  
"What?! How could you do such a thing! Cooking me! I can't believe you, Ray!"  
  
"I meant…" said Ray as he moved away from Mariah towards the sink, filling a pot with water, "you were getting really close to the hot pan, and your hair was almost in the food. Hey… what's that smell? It smells like something's burning… it's not the food… I just put it in and it wouldn't burn that quickly. Ugh… it smells terrible!"  
  
"Huh?" Mariah smelled it too. It came from somewhere below her. She looked down. Her hair had caught on fire.  
  
"MY HAIR!!!" Mariah screamed. Mariah ran around in circles, alarming all the boys.  
  
"Mariah! Stop running around! Stop! Calm down!" yelled Kenny.  
  
"My HAIR'S on fire! How can I calm down?!" yelled back Mariah as she continued to run around in circles. Ray looked down at the large pot of cold water in his hands, and looked up at Mariah. Down and up, down and up he looked, before heaving the great pot, letting the contents fly out from it into the air, drenching Mariah from head to toe.  
  
Mariah stopped. Her fluorescent pink hair had darkened on one side from the fire. The fire had made her hair uneven on one side, while the other remained untouched. Moving her plastered hair from her eyes, she looked threateningly at the boys.  
  
"WHO. THREW. WATER. AT. ME?" said Mariah slowly. All the boys pointed to Ray, standing guiltily with a pot in his hands.  
  
"Ray…" Mariah looked sadly at him, "how… how could you do this to me? You didn't warn me… or anything."  
  
"Well… you wanted the fire put out… and if we didn't do something fast, you would've lost all your hair (A/N: not that some of us wouldn't have minded) so… pouring the water was the only choice we… I had," said Ray hurriedly. Mariah frowned. Her beloved Ray had just drenched her. But he did save her hair. Looking up at Ray, who had turned around to fill up the pot again, when she thought to herself, "This is my big chance to get a hug!" She walked over to him.  
  
"Thanks for saving my hair," said Mariah quietly and moved in for a hug.  
  
Ray turned around with the pot brimming with water, which spilled all over Mariah as she accidentally tipped it towards her. Mariah stumbled back. (A/N: What? You think I'd really let them hug?)  
  
"Sorry," smiled Ray, sheepishly. Mariah sighed before turning and leaving.  
  
"Oh… come on, Mariah. Cheer up! Ray didn't mean to do it… well, except for the first time, but still, it was for a good purpose," started Max.  
  
"Just save it, Max," said Mariah, "I'll have to get my hair cut 'cuz it's all uneven and it's probably different colours now from all that heat."  
  
"You do have 2 shades in your hair… just like Kai! Just that yours is from side-to-side and yours is fluorescent pink and a darker pink… and black at the ends!" exclaimed Kenny. Mariah just mumbled and disappeared up the stairs.  
  
The boys sighed, when they were interrupted by a loud crash. Looking for the source of the sound, they saw that the cookie jar was smashed to smithereens on the tiled floor, and no other than Tyson was on the ground with it, grabbing every crumb within his mouth's reach. Tyson was still strapped to the chair, arms pinned to his sides and he was occupied with the task of trying to roll himself around to get more cookies and crumbs.  
  
"TYSON!"  
  
"Huh?" Tyson looked up, crumbs bordering his mouth. "Heh heh… hiya."  
  
------------------------------  
  
Yay! Done another chapter! ^^ Poor Mariah. I had more in store for her in this chapter, but I felt a little guilty and felt I should stop. But it's not a totally bad thing, 'cuz I could prolong it instead and stretch it into the next chapter… unless you guys don't want it. It will be a vote then.  
  
a)Mariah deserves more punishment/embarrassment! She's evillllll… pure EVIL!  
  
b)Mariah's had enough…leave her alone… she hasn't really done anything wrong…yet… 


	7. The Haircut

Here's the next chapter for you guys! XD  
  
^-^: Hehe… Giddy! That's a funny word… anyways, thanks for reading…I'm glad it made you so giddy XD  
  
silverjustice1: glad you like the last chapter. I'm updating as fast as my little mind can think up incidents.  
  
~*~Rose~*~: Thanks for reviewing! ^^  
  
otaku4: Glad to see you have such a… strong opinion. Thanks for reading my fic. ^^  
  
Hungry/Vengeful Koneko: very odd indeed… fun… would you really wanna have fun with a person covered in food? I'm glad you liked my picture. ^^ As for Mariah… she's already been burnt… but I might get some more burns in there…  
  
Whatever: Thanks for voting. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. ^^  
  
Misty-girl: Mariah bashing in the summary it is! XD And as for her hair… it was all of one side of her hair… and then it spread to other areas… not really the bangs though. And was there ever any hope for Tyson's stupidity? But in this chapter, he's not quite as stupid.  
  
Silver Chaotic of Randomia: I don't think I'll go as far as killing her… but she'll get tortured… embarrassed… something of the sort… that's for sure.  
  
And here are the results of my poll… (drum-roll please)… 100% a) Mariah deserves more punishment/embarrassment! She's evillllll… pure EVIL! Therefore, more Mariah bashing! (Sorry, if you're a Mariah fan [I haven't found many of those], but… majority rules!)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
Shower Curtains  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Kai finished his spaghetti and paid his bill. Stepping outside, he took a deep breath. The warm, crisp air filled his senses. The brilliant sun shone down him and fluffy clouds drifted across the sky.  
  
Sighing, he decided to go on a walk. He wandered the city, walking through parks and walking along the beach. He was very relaxed. Everything was erased from him mind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mariah slowly walked to the bathroom, with the awful stench of her burnt hair trailing behind her. She wore a terrified look as she glanced in the mirror. The previously bright pink hair stuck to her face, had turned dark, and was tawny in some areas. The burnt hairs had thinned as they shrivelled and curled away from her head. Her hair seemed extremely lop-sided.  
  
When what happened finally sunk into Mariah's mind, she slowly raised her hand and brushed her hair gently. It was no longer smooth, but rough and bumpy. She needed to get a haircut as soon as possible.  
  
Searching in her suitcase back in her room, she pulled out a fuzzy pink hoodie. She pulled it over her head, and put up the hood, which shaded her eyes. Shoving her hands in the pocket, she went downstairs, trying to be inconspicuous, but unfortunately, Kenny saw her.  
  
"Mariah! Where you going?"  
  
"For a haircut," muttered Mariah.  
  
"What for?"  
  
"…"  
  
"I mean, why would you go when I can do it for you!"  
  
"You… cut my hair…" Mariah glanced at Kenny's own hair.  
  
"Yea… I mean, I can connect Dizzi to the internet where you can find anything! And anything includes haircuts. I'll follow the instructions carefully, so you shouldn't be worried. I mean, look at how the Bladebreakers turned out. I tune up their blades, and they become better than ever, just like you will when I'm through with you."  
  
"Um…" Mariah shifted slightly.  
  
"And you'll save money. This is a completely free service I'm offering you!"  
  
"Okay… I'm putting my absolute trust in you. You'd better not screw up my hair."  
  
"It's hard to screw it up more after what happened."  
  
Mariah glared at Kenny. Her glare when unnoticed as Kenny turned around to the kitchen.  
  
Kenny yelled behind his back, "meet me in the upstairs bathroom."  
  
Mariah trudged back to the bathroom.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kai sat on the edge of a cliff, legs dangling over the water below. He was high above the beach, watching the sunset.  
  
A warm wind lightly brushed the lush green grass sprouting on the cold and dark cliff. The waves began to shrink, as the sky became a rosy pink. The clouds and wind slowly disappeared, and the ocean ripples sadly as the bright disk lowered itself. The sky turned a deep violet, and silence surrounded the lone boy. Evening settling in, faint stars began to appear across the sky. Water gently slapped against the stony cliff, as a pale moon rose. The water sparkled in greeting as the moonlight stretched out to sea. The moon stood out against the clear, dark sky, looking down at the boy, who was staring up at it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mariah stood nervously in the bathroom. She didn't know if she was making the right decision or not. She was lost in her thoughts when she heard someone knock on the door. Turning around, she saw Kenny with a large pair of scissors and a towel in his hands, and Dizzi tucked safely under his arm.  
  
Placing the objects on the counter, Kenny looked up at Mariah towering over him.  
  
"Um… I think I'll get a stool for you to sit on," said Kenny before rushing off. Moments later, Kenny reappeared with a small stool.  
  
"Take off your hoodie," commanded Kenny as he placed the stool on the ground. Mariah hesitated at first, but obeyed.  
  
Kenny grimaced at the sight, "ouch." Mariah ignored Kenny's comment as she sat on the stool. Kenny draped the towel around her shoulders. Kenny opened his laptop.  
  
"Dizzi… search haircuts."  
  
"What for? It's not like you cut your hair," came a virtual reply.  
  
"It's not for me, it's for Mariah."  
  
"What's she need a haircut for? And why you?" Kenny turned Dizzi so she was facing Mariah, "Ooo… that desperate, huh? Alright… searching… hm… this one seems like a good one. Nice and simple."  
  
"Alright…" Kenny took a deep breath holding the scissors as if he were trimming a garden hedge, "here I go." Mariah closed her eyes tightly.  
  
Snip, snip, snip, clip, clip, trim, snip, trim, trim, clip, SLASH.  
  
"Oops," muttered Kenny.  
  
"OOPS WHAT?!"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"…"  
  
Clip, trim, snip, chop, slice, clip, chop, chop…  
  
~a little while later~  
  
The smell of food wafted in the hallways. Tyson was drooling, straining to get out of his chair. Max struggled to keep Tyson in place, and had to result in sitting on Tyson's lap.  
  
"Max! Get off!"  
  
"No way."  
  
"Come on… I'll tell you where the bag of sugar is…"  
  
"Ooo… really? Wait… NO! I'm not falling for it. I'm not getting off you until dinner's ready." Tyson grumbled.  
  
"Dinner's ready," called Ray, placing his final dish on the table, "Max, you want to call down Kenny and Mari—"  
  
Ray was interrupted by an ear piercing scream. The boys cringed and covered their ears. All except for Tyson that is, who's hands were pinned to his sides. Outside the kitchen, the boys could hear people thundering down the stairs.  
  
"Sheesh… I know your cooking's good Ray, but seriously… is a scream necessary?" asked Tyson, his ears still ringing.  
  
Kenny flew into the kitchen and hid behind Ray, clutching the apron, before realizing Ray was still only wearing boxers and left to hide behind Tyson's chair.  
  
Mariah stormed in, with her hood over her head.  
  
"Where's that nerdy pip-squeak?" raged Mariah.  
  
Ray raised his eyebrow, "why?"  
  
"'Cuz he freakin' messed up my hair!"  
  
"How's that possible? I mean, after the burn, how much worse can it get than that?" asked Max.  
  
"What about THIS?!" shrieked Mariah, roughly pulling down her hood. The boys couldn't help but stifle their laughter.  
  
"Well… isn't that… something," chuckled Ray.  
  
"Well, look on the bright side. At least there's no more burnt hair," sniggered Max.  
  
"She reminds me of someone…" thought Tyson.  
  
"KENNY!!!"  
  
"Well, my I've got long bangs, and so… I kinda… slipped up in some places. I couldn't see… you can't blame me…" said Kenny from behind the chair.  
  
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CUT MY HAIR. I PUT MY ABSOLUTE TRUST IN YOU AND YOU DO THIS TO ME!"  
  
"Okay… so you can blame me. I take full responsibility. But please… don't hurt me!" squeaked Kenny.  
  
"Oh… I don't think that's a possibility…" said Mariah rolling up her sleeves.  
  
"Whoa… hold it… no fighting," said Ray moving in between the two.  
  
Mariah stopped. She wanted to be on Ray's good side, after all. Kenny crawled up to Ray and hugged Ray's legs.  
  
"Oh, thank you! Thank you, Ray!" Mariah glared at him as best she could and Kenny crawled back to Tyson.  
  
Everyone pulled up a chair and sat down to eat their dinner. No one spoke all night, but there were occasion glances at Mariah from the boys, and glares from Mariah to Kenny who sat crouched in his chair. Max had untied Tyson.  
  
"Okay, Tyson. You're going to learn how to eat neatly," started Max.  
  
"Mhm…" Tyson spaced off, lost in his own thoughts.  
  
"Now, hold the fork like so…" Max held his own fork and Tyson did the same.  
  
"And you have to pick up food like this… and eat slowly. No shovelling."  
  
"Mhm…" Tyson ate slowly while Max raised his eyebrow. Something wasn't right, Tyson wasn't protesting at all. But it didn't matter, Tyson was eating normally and that's all that mattered.  
  
As dinner ended, the bladers picked up their plates and placed them into the dishwasher. Tyson was still sitting at the table, lost in his thoughts.  
  
"Tyson, you okay?" asked Kenny.  
  
"Huh? Yea… I'm fine…" Tyson picked up his dishes and put them in the dishwasher, before snapping back to look at Kenny.  
  
"I KNOW NOW!" Everyone stopped to find out what Tyson was about to say. It's not often that Tyson knows something.  
  
Tyson turned to Mariah. "Your hair's like… KENNY'S!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kai got up. It was getting late. Slowly walking home, Kai absorbed the sights around him. Streetlights lit his path on the empty streets, and a cool wind accompanied him on his way home. Lights in houses, began to go out, and everyone was turning in for the night. Everything became still and quiet. Kai smiled to himself. He was alone. Just the way he liked it. Closing his eyes, he let his feet take him home.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing at Tyson's comment, and the thing was, it was true. Mariah's bangs draped over her eyes, and her hair was very short. She had trouble glaring at the buckled over boys. The boys were busy laughing and crying to notice Mariah's glare. Mariah stomped up the stairs to her room and slammed the door. She flopped onto her bed, wanting this day to end.  
  
The boys were crying, clutching their sides. It took a good 10 minutes for them to calm down.  
  
"Oh… that was great…" laughed Max.  
  
"It hurts too," said Tyson, clutching his side.  
  
"We should probably get to bed. You'll feel better, then," said Ray.  
  
"Yea," agreed the boys, and they slowly chortled their way upstairs.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kai looked up at his home. All the lights were out and everything was quiet. Kai walked into his home. He took a quick shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He walked to his room, and as he made to grab the handle, he stopped. Ray was in there. Kai pulled back. What if Ray had set up some sort of fancy thing for him? Candles… flowers… soft music…wait a minute. Ray wouldn't do that… would he? Kai put his ear close to the door. He didn't hear anything. It sounded safe. And from outside, he didn't see any lights turned on, either. Kai opened the door a crack. He waited for his eyes to adjust. Peering in, he saw Ray sleeping peacefully. Sighing in relief, Kai slipped into the room and put on a pair of boxers. Creeping into bed, he decided he would wake up early and stay out of the house for the whole day… maybe the rest of his life… or just until Ray leaves. Smiling, Kai buried himself into the pillow, and thought to himself, "I survived. I survived one whole day. One day down… the rest of my life to go." Kai grimaced at the last part. Sighing, Kai closed his eyes, and began to drift off into a deep sleep.  
  
A brilliant phoenix sat in front of Kai. Kai smiled up at him. "Hello, Dranzer." Dranzer nuzzled Kai happily. Kai sat down beside Dranzer. "It's been a long day. Mariah came to inspect Ray, and I think Ray likes me." Kai looked up at Dranzer, who looked back caringly. Kai continued. "It's kinda hard for me. Hey!" Kai looked up. Dranzer had pecked him. Kai glared at Dranzer and started again, "It's hard because it's kinda… odd… ow! Stop it Dranzer!" Dranzer pecked Kai again. "What's the matter with you?" Dranzer looked down at Kai sadly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Just stop pecking me, all right? Anyways, it's odd isn't it? I mean… if he likes me…ow, stop it! That means he's… cut it out! That means Ray's gay. OW!"  
  
Kai's eyes snapped open. Someone was sitting right in front of him wearing only a slightly too large pair of boxers with feathers on it. It could be no other person but…  
  
"RAY!" yelled Kai, shifting backwards. Ray jumped when he heard Kai yell.  
  
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," said Ray.  
  
"I… I wasn't scared… you just… startled me. 'Cuz… those are… my boxers… and well, I'm used to seeing them on me… and everything," stuttered Kai.  
  
"Sorry, you don't mind do you? Me borrowing your boxers?"  
  
"No… no… not at all."  
  
"Are you alright?" asked Ray.  
  
"Huh? Yea… yea… of course, why wouldn't I be?"  
  
"I dunno… you're stuttering."  
  
"… well… I'm… fine… go back to bed."  
  
"Ok." Ray turned away and paused, before turning back, "Kai, do you mind if I ask you something?"  
  
"Uh… ok."  
  
"What was happening in your dream?"  
  
"It… it's none of your business!"  
  
"No, I guess not. Can I ask you one more question?"  
  
"Hurry up. I'm tired." Kai was starting to get annoyed and very jittery.  
  
"Um… well… what do you think of me?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What do you think of me? I heard you say my name a few times in your sleep… and well… think about it… you dreaming about me… 'cuz I," Ray turned away, blushing slightly, "I…"  
  
"I wasn't dreaming about you!" shouted Kai. He didn't want to hear what Ray was going to say. He had a bad feeling about all of this.  
  
"But… but I heard my name… I'm sure of it!"  
  
"Well…" Kai didn't know what to say. He wasn't a liar. He couldn't lie if his life depended on it. "Just go back to b.ed," said Kai, giving up and falling back onto his pillow.  
  
"But I want to know! If it's about me, I deserve to know, don't I? Kai, I know you better than the other guys, and I know something's the matter. Usually, I see you the most compared to everyone else, but today, you've been acting funny around me, and everyone else saw you more than I did! When I came down to the kitchen, they said you were just there and you just disappeared. You forgot your spaghetti, and you're not usually the forgetful one around here. You can't tell me there's nothing wrong." Kai was caught. Ray was very stubborn. Knowing him, he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. Kai couldn't tell Ray what he was thinking. It just wasn't time if he was going to tell Ray at all.  
  
"Please, Kai. Tell me what's bothering you," said Ray gently, placing his hand on Kai's shoulder. Kai stiffened. More proof. "Kai?" Ray started to stroke Kai's arm soothingly, wanting Kai to relax, but Kai just stiffened even more. "Kai, please tell me. I'm worried about you." Kai jerked away from Ray who opened his eyes in surprise. Kai sat up, rubbing his face with his hands. Ray sat on the bed and crossed his legs.  
  
"Kai… you alright?"  
  
"Just great." Ray frowned.  
  
"Tell me. I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's bothering you."  
  
"… Ray… I… are… you're a good friend and all, but… I…" stammered Kai. It was pointless to lie.  
  
"Yes?" said Ray encouragingly, "go on, go on—"  
  
"Go on to bed, that's what."  
  
Kai and Ray looked up to see who it was. It was Mariah wearing a long white night gown with blue trims and bonnet on her head. She didn't like her new hairdo at all.  
  
She entered the room with her arms crossed. Ray turned around and she stopped, staring at him, before shaking her head.  
  
"You're supposed to be asleep, Ray. I'll report you if you don't go now." Mariah pointed to the empty bed.  
  
"How did you know I was awake?" asked Ray.  
  
"What, you don't think I can hear people yelling? Now go to bed!"  
  
"But—"  
  
"No buts. Now go… shoo!" Mariah ushered Ray to his bed and tucked him in.  
  
"But Mariah!"  
  
"No more talking. Sleep. Good night, Ray," Mariah kissed Ray on the forehead. (A/N: After all she's been through, she deserves one good thing.) Ray frowned, but obeyed. Mariah approached Kai.  
  
"What do you think you're doing, keeping Ray awake? He needs his sleep…" Kai didn't mind being told off. Heck, he was glad Mariah came. Now he wouldn't have to tell Ray anything. Kai grinned.  
  
"What are you grinning at now?" scolded Mariah.  
  
"Hm? Nothing." Mariah narrowed her eyes and left the room.  
  
Kai smirked and went back to bed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mariah went back to her room.  
  
"What does Ray think he's doing? Being up late at night with someone like… HIM. And Ray was topless too…" Mariah smiled, "hehe… I saw Ray topless. Beautiful Ray. He doesn't know it yet, but he's going to be mine. He deserves better than to hang out with people like THEM. He needs to come back to China, back to the White Tigers, where he belongs. Hehe… Ray was topless. Wait a minute. Kai was topless too. They were only wearing boxers… both of them! And… one bed… no… it can't be! They… they can't be… they can't be gay! My dear Ray can't be gay! Especially not with HIM. But… Kai was grinning! He was… happy! Happy to be with Ray? No… it can't be! And Ray didn't want to leave! And it was late at night… in secret. Oh no, how long has this been going on? Two practically naked guys… in one bed… in the middle of the night… happy…" Mariah slapped her head.  
  
"I must take drastic actions. I must make sure I split them apart. I'm the only one who gets Ray. Me, and only me!" A crazed look appeared on Mariah's face. "Ray WILL be mine in the end… ALL mine. And Kai? Kai will be wriggling in the earth like the little worm he is. Muahahahahahahahahaha!"  
  
------------------------------  
  
Yea, you feel sorry for Mariah in the beginning... kinda, but now… Mariah's turned out to be kinda freaky, don't you think? What do you think Mariah's got planned out? Will it work?  
  
That was a long chapter for me… but i don't think i'll update anytime soon. I can't think of any evil plans. I'm open to suggestions! Please Review! ^^ 


	8. AVALANCHE!

It's been so long since I wrote a chapter… I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long… I have exams coming up soon, so I'll have to study for them. I won't be updating for a while.  
  
Thanks for the reviews. My answers might be… are outta date… kinda…   
  
Silent Bob 546: Yes… pity her a little for now… but don't do it for long. She won't deserve any after what she's gonna do.  
  
Interlude: I'm glad you like it :). I hope you like this one as much as you did the last.  
  
xXxCeRuLeAn-x'SxXx: No… probably not a good idea, but hey, it's all good in the end. Laughing is good for your health. Hopefully, I'm making lots of people healthier. I hope you like this chapter.  
  
Lustful Koneko: Lots of people want to see things… I know for a fact that you have pictures of g-rev ray where he's pretty much topless, so don't complain. And Mariah? You gotta feel SOME pity for her after having her hair cut by Kenny coughcough… it's not like she's going to get Ray in the end, anyways rolls eyes. And see? I'm updating!  
  
Raku Ozzarian princess: Yes… it's very confusing, isn't it? It's why I'm thinking about stopping this fic… it's going to stay as Kai thinking Ray likes him, and Mariah thinking Kai and Ray are together, and everyone not knowing what Ray feels for the rest of the fic except for the end. :S At least you got all that sorted out.  
  
Silver Chaotic of Randomia: Lol… lemme get torture her first and they you can go kill/stop her yourself, 'cuz I still need her to finish the fic. Sound good?  
  
Misty-girl-kiki: lol… that's a good idea, but I don't know how I'd put it into the fic unless they were all pulling pranks on one another.  
  
Elisabeth: hehe… thanks. I'm glad you like it. Here's the next chapter.  
  
PhOeNiX2dX: lol… that'd be really funny . Hmm… might work… it'd be great though, if it happened XD  
  
obsessed: haha you seem to like to see Mariah in bandages… maybe I can put it in there somewhere…  
  
Anime girl8: ooo… good ideas… I think I might be able to incorporate them into my fic somehow… thanks   
  
Lao Rei Fan: I'm glad you liked my picture :) Oh, and yea… send in your ideas… or email me them or something.  
  
hn: haha… that'd be great for a prank. Maybe I'll put some pranking in here… but I don't like staying on one idea for a long time, so I'm not going to write a whole bunch of chapters for this. This fic could carry on for a LONG time if I wanted…  
  
linxcat: go innocent people! XD heh heh… thanks for reading my fic. And about your idea, not too shabby… not a shabby idea at all… hmm…   
  
Now that that's done, on with the show! And this time, Ray's gonna have ACTUAL thoughts! XD  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
Shower Curtains  
  
Chapter 8  
  
The sun peeked up from the horizon, spreading its warmth to the land. A beam of light pierced through the curtains of a room and onto the face of a two-toned haired boy. He cringed slightly at the bright light now on him and turned away from the light. He tried to go back to sleep, but it was too late. Once he's been waken, nothing would be able to put him back into his peaceful slumber. Sighing, he opened his eyes groggily, not yet wanting to meet the new day. Pulling himself up, he sat on the edge of the bed. He shook the sleep from himself, and looked up at his roommate, sleeping peacefully. His face, framed with dark hair, relaxed, made Kai want to feel the same way… relaxed, peaceful, and with no worries in the world, but that was impossible for him. He had a harsh past in Russia, and his parents… he didn't remember them. Now, there was the worry about Ray being gay clouding his mind.  
  
Kai got up and walked towards Ray's bed. He gazed down at the snoozing boy.  
  
"He… he's so relaxed," thought Kai, "… so peaceful… like… an angel." Kai slowly raised his hand, reaching out to the tranquil boy. Slowly brushing Ray's bangs to the side, his hand came within millimeters of the soft skin of the sleeping before stopping.  
  
"What am I doing?!" thought Kai. He pulled his hand away quickly, and left to take a shower.  
  
Later  
  
A loud beeping pierced through the room. Ray awoke abruptly, shooting up looking for the source of the noise.  
  
"Huh? What?!" His eyes came to a stop at the alarm clock beside him. 7:00AM. Ray grumbled. Pressing the snooze button, he dove back under the covers.  
  
5 minutes later, the beeping noise awoke Ray once again.  
  
"Argh!" Ray reached out from under his sheets and slammed his fist on the clock. Hearing the beeping stop, he closed his eyes once again.  
  
As he was finally falling back asleep, he jolted awake at the clock.  
  
"AUGH! SHUT UP!!!" Ray threw the covers off him and threw the clock across the room at the bathroom door. The clock shattered as it collided with the door with a crash, and fell lifelessly to the floor.  
  
"Ahh… that should do it," smiled Ray triumphantly. Ray laid his head down on his pillow, pulling his covers over his head and drifted off into a peaceful slumber—or so he thought.  
  
Ray awoke once again to a faint sound. Ray was getting pissed off. "That darn clock won't shut up. I'll show it who's boss!" thought Ray.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" screamed Ray and his threw off his covers and pounced off his bed towards the clock—

Kai was taking a cold shower, washing his worries away. He closed his eyes, letting the cool drops of water slide down his body, when suddenly—CrDINGack!!!  
  
"What the heck?"  
  
Kai turned off the shower and stepped out of the shower. He took a fluffy white towel from the towel rack and wrapped it around his waist. Unlocking the door, he saw Ray shifting around under his covers and going back to sleep. By his feet, lay a broken alarm clock.  
  
"Geeze, Ray," muttered Kai as he picked up the alarm clock, "you could of just TURNED the clock off." Kai shook the clock slightly, making a faint clanging sound. "Now I have to get a new clock. Everything inside is all broken now," said Kai shaking the clock a little more to confirm his suspicion. Sighing, Kai shook it a final time before placing it on a table beside the door.  
  
"Ugh… shopping," Kai thought to himself, disgusted, "I hate shop—" Kai's train of thought was interrupted by a familiar, "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"  
  
"Huh?" Kai turned around to find Ray pouncing off his bed at him. "AUGH!!" exclaimed Kai, stepping back. Ray, opening his eyes, realized Kai was there and tried to stop himself, but it was too late. He crashed head first into Kai's stomach and wrapped his arms around Kai's waist, causing Kai to lose his balance and fall backwards. Ray's arms pulled Kai's towel down dangerously low as Kai's head luckily fell onto the fluffy crimson bathmat instead of the tiled floor.  
  
"Is… is it over?" muttered Ray, not daring to look up. Kai didn't answer.  
  
"Kai? KAI!" yelled Ray, shifting his head to look at Kai's face, "Are you okay?!" A loud groan came the response.  
  
"Phew!" said Ray, relieved settling his head back down. "The last thing he needed was a dead captain," thought Ray.  
  
The door burst open and a blur of pink rushed in followed by Max, Kenny, and a bleary-eyed Tyson.  
  
"RAY!" screamed Mariah. Ray groaned. "Okay, a dead captain would be the second worst thing," he thought.  
  
"RAY! What—" Mariah gasped at the sight. "It IS true! Kai's practically naked, and Ray's trying to pull off his towel! Drastic actions! I must take DRASTIC actions!" thought Mariah.  
  
"Whoa… look at YOU two," said Max.  
  
"Havin' a little fun?" asked Tyson slyly as he realized what was happening, "Geeze… and you guys didn't even bothering to lock the door, either." Max and Kenny chuckled.  
  
"Huh?" wondered Kai and Ray at the same time. Realizing their current situation, they quickly separated and got up, blushing slightly.  
  
"I'm going to finish my shower," said Kai before closing and locking the bathroom door hastily.  
  
"I'm… I'm… I'm just going to go back to bed," Ray said before diving under the covers of his bed.  
  
The other boys laughed before leaving for the kitchen. Mariah just stood there, stunned, repeating to herself in her mind, "drastic actions, drastic actions, drastic actions…" She snapped out of her reverie and walked towards the hallway to go back to her room.  
  
At the doorway, she stopped and turned around, narrowing her eyes at the bathroom door.  
  
"This means war."

Kai got out of the shower and got dressed. "Again! He really IS after me! Oh no… what am I supposed to do?! I can't keep on avoiding him. If I do, he'll just confront me like last night! Grr…"  
  
Kai got out of the bathroom. He picked up Dranzer from his bedside table, and put her in his pocket.  
  
Ray poked his head from beneath his covers. He wasn't able to go back to sleep. "Hey. Kai?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
"Can I borrow some of your clothes? I don't wanna run around in a pair of boxers, all day, just because Tyson still hasn't done the laundry."  
  
"Fine. Go look for something yourself," said Kai quickly, before leaving the room. Ray grinned. He would be in the closet again!

The boys looked up at Kai as he entered the kitchen.  
  
"Morning, lover boy!" grinned Tyson.  
  
Kai froze and narrowed his eyes down at Tyson.  
  
"I… I was just kidding Kai! Can't you take a joke?" said Tyson scratching the back of his head.  
  
"Tyson…" growled Kai.  
  
"Apparently not," whispered Kenny.  
  
"a) Don't call me 'lover boy'. Ray and I are NOT a couple. b) Do the laundry. It's your turn this week and Ray's gonna be running around in his underpants all day if you don't," said Kai, turning to the fridge to get himself some breakfast.  
  
"Ooo… wouldn't you like that?" whispered Tyson to Max and Kenny, who giggled.  
  
"I HEARD THAT!" yelled Kai. Tyson gulped and ran out the door with Kai on his tail.

Mariah walked down the stairs to see two blue blurs flash by her. Shaking her head, she pulled up the hood of her hoodie and went into the kitchen.  
  
Getting herself some breakfast, she sat down with the other two boys who were still laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"Nothing," replied the boys. Mariah frowned.  
  
"Morning!" Max, Kenny and Mariah turned towards the doorway. There stood Ray, dressed in a black dress shirt, unbuttoned, that revealed a white t-shirt; and a pair of black jeans to match.  
  
"Heh heh," grinned Ray, "so, what do you guys think?"  
  
"Sharp! Very sharp!" exclaimed Kenny, while Max gave two thumbs up.  
  
"Whoa! You… look… very… uh… great!" stuttered Mariah, "not to mention hot, sexy, beautiful, gorgeous, stunning, dazzling, lovely—" she added to herself in her mind.  
  
"I didn't know you had those clothes," said Max.  
  
"I don't. I borrowed these from Kai. Aren't they nice? He's got so many clothes. I wonder why he doesn't wear different outfits everyday. I would if I were him."  
  
"I dunno. But it IS Kai who we're talking about. The one who doesn't say too much," replied Kenny.  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Well, I'm done here. I'm gonna step outside for some peace and quiet," said Kenny, putting his dishes in the dishwasher.  
  
"Same here," said Max.  
  
"How come you guys are going outside? Don't you usually stay in here?" asked Ray.  
  
"Yea… well, Tyson pissed off Kai a couple minutes ago, and now their gonna make a lot of noise," said Max simply as he put his dishes in the dishwasher.  
  
"Really? What did Tyson do?" asked Ray.  
  
"Well—"  
  
Kenny was interrupted by a loud crash. Everyone ran to the living room. It was a mess. Couches were tipped over, lamps were destroyed, and a large bookshelf had fallen over.  
  
"Kai? Tyson? Where are you guys?!" yelled Ray. The bookshelf shifted.  
  
"The boogie man!!!" screamed Max jumping into Kenny's arms. Kenny, being the smaller of the two, collapsed under the sudden increase in weight.  
  
"My butt…" whined Max.  
  
"Dizzi!!!" wailed Kenny, inspecting the damage done to his beloved laptop.  
  
Ray and Mariah, on the other hand, went to the bookshelf and lifted it back up in place. Under the bookshelf lay Kai and Tyson, buried under a pile of books.  
  
"THIS is why I hate school. The books are out to get me," muttered Tyson. A book hit him squarely on the head. "I hate books." Kai just slapped him on the head and got up.  
  
"Clean it up, Tyson," Kai said simply.  
  
"What!? You made half this mess too!"  
  
"So? If it wasn't for you, this mess would have never been made!"  
  
"SO? That's not the point! It's here because of the BOTH of us, so you have to clean!"  
  
"If I clean, you'll just make me do most of it! You haven't even done the laundry this week, and you KNOW it's your turn!"  
  
"Calm down, you two!" said Kenny.  
  
"STAY OUT OF IT!" yelled Kai and Tyson simultaneously. Kenny hid behind Dizzi.  
  
"Well, sor-RY, Mr. Sourpuss! If you want the laundry done so badly, then why don't you do it yourself?"  
  
"It's your JOB to do the laundry. You just don't want to do it, so you're going to make everyone else do it for you! You're the laziest—"  
  
"SHUT UP!" yelled Max. Kai and Tyson stopped, surprised at how their normally cheerful friend would yell. "Thank you. Why don't you guys just calm down, okay? We'll worry about this mess later. Why don't we go to the beach or something, right now? It'd relax us all, and everything, instead of us being cooped up in here?"  
  
"Sounds good to me," said Ray, "I'm going to get my stuff."  
  
"Me too! It'll be fun!" exclaimed Mariah, imagining Ray in trunks, and scurrying off.  
  
"OKAY!" yelled Tyson, jumping up from the pile of books.  
  
"Kenny?" asked Max. Kenny nodded, scampering off.  
  
"Kai?"  
  
"No, thank you," muttered Kai, getting up and brushing himself off.  
  
"Aww… come on. Come outside! Enjoy the sunshine!" said Max. Kai just rolled his eyes.  
  
"Eh, leave the sourpuss alone. He wouldn't know how to have fun even if we got there. I'm going to get my swim stuff," said Tyson disappearing out the door.  
  
"Kai, please reconsider."  
  
"Not going." Kai stepped over the pile of books and left the room. Max sighed and went to get his own stuff.  
  
later  
  
"Everyone ready?" asked Mariah.  
  
"YUP!"  
  
"Hey, where's Kai?" asked Ray, looking around.  
  
"He's not coming," said Max disappointedly.  
  
"What? He's gotta come!" And with that, Ray disappeared up the stairs.  
  
"Where's he going?" wondered Tyson.  
  
All of a sudden a bag fell down from the level above into Max's arms, followed by "RAY! What the heck do you think you're doing?! Leave me alone! I'm not going with you guys! AUGH! thumpbumpbumpbumpbumpbump" Next thing they saw was Ray dragging something down the stairs. Arriving at the bottom, they saw it was Kai with a pair of glasses in one hand and a book in the other.  
  
"READY!" said Ray happily.  
  
Everyone sweat-dropped.

* * *

Another chapter! This one sucked… people OOC a little… I wrote it quickly though. Please don't mind my mistakes ;;. I hope you guys can still understand it.  
  
I could've written swears instead of a few of those words in the chapter, but I'm not the type that swears in my writing or outloud… only to myself ;;. So… I used mild swears if you consider them swears at all.  
  
Kk… I don't know whether I should continue this fic. I'm going to have a poll. Please vote.  
  
a) I'm getting confused as to what's happening. Stop this fic before you drive everyone insane!  
  
b) I'm not confused… I don't think… please continue!  
  
c) I could really care less whether you continue with this or not. It sucks anyways.  
  
d) –none of the above (create your own answer)-  
  
Oh, and I still need ideas for Mariah's evil plans, not how to torture Mariah. I can think of ways to torture just fine. It seems to come kinda naturally ;;. Please send me ideas for evil plans! 


	9. The Beach

Another chapter! I'm proud… I haven't written this much in a few days that's not for school.  
  
brookdragenlord: Thanks for voting!   
  
Phillis: heh heh -sweat-drops- depends… usually when I'm not, you know I usually do it to annoy you :).  
  
Daydreaming Koneko: Speedos… um… don't think so. You know I can torture cuz you're usually my victim XD  
  
Raku Ozzarian princess: hmm… those are pretty good ideas, you have there… heh heh… you gave me an idea… hehe… thx for your ideas and for reviewing! XD  
  
linxcat: It's spelt yaoi. Meh, so you don't like it. There won't be any real yaoi in here until the very last chapter, and that won't be for a while. :)  
  
linxcat: I dunno if you're the same as the other one, but I'm not really going for a guy/girl pairing. This fic's for a friend of mine, and she likes yaoi… particularly KaixRay. Sorry if I disappointed you. But it'd be a good idea if I was going for a straight pairing. Maybe you should write it yourself.  
  
Okie dokey. The beach! Thx to lonephoenix1 for the idea! Thank you to Raku Ozzarian princess, too! The credit goes to you guys for this! My friend INSISTED I update now, and not wait a week, so here you guys go. I hope you like it!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Beyblade.  
  
**Shower Curtains**  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Whoopee!!! The Beach!" yelled Tyson.  
  
The beach was very vacant for this time of year. There was lots of space to run around in, and the ocean stretched out to what seemed to be forever. A warm breeze blew across the water, creating little ripples that rolled up the sand. Little critters could be seen scuttling by the edge of the sand, as well as large seashells. The sun was bright and fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky.  
  
Everyone unloaded off the van… everyone except for Kai, however. Ray was busy trying to pry Kai away from the van. Kai was clinging on to the bus door like a leech, while Ray was pulling his legs. Once the others had unloaded, they helped Ray in to pry Kai off, though Mariah really only wanted to get Ray off Kai.  
  
"Noo!!! I'm not going!"  
  
"Oh come on. You've come this far already! Just let go!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"What's so bad about the beach?!"  
  
"I'm not going!!"  
  
"You're already here!"  
  
"Am not! I'm in the air!"  
  
"Let go!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"Geeze… you're starting to sound like Tyson!"  
  
THUMP. Everyone tumbled backwards while Kai fell on his face.  
  
"Don't you guys EVER compare me to that… that…"  
  
"No name calling, Kai."  
  
Kai glared.  
  
"Well, since we're all here. Let's get changed!" said Max happily.  
  
Everyone headed for the change rooms while Kai tried to sneak back into the van.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" said Ray, grabbing onto Kai's arm and dragging him backwards. "Now you go in there, and change!" Ray pushed Kai into a stall, and pushed the door close.  
  
"Lemme out, Ray!" said Kai, banging on the door.  
  
"Not 'til you've changed!"  
  
"How the heck am I supposed to change if I don't have anything to change into?!"  
  
"Oh yea." Ray threw a bag over the top of the stall. "Now change!" A faint grumbling could be heard from the other side of the door. Ray grinned triumphantly.  
  
"I'm done, now let me out!"  
  
"You can't be done that fast!"  
  
"And why not?"  
  
"It's not possible!"  
  
"Of course it is, now let me out!"  
  
"Change, then!"  
  
"I did!"  
  
"Prove it!"  
  
"How am I supposed to prove it when you can't see me?!"  
  
"You're the captain. Think of some way!"  
  
More grumbling could be heard, then all of a sudden a bag flew over the stall door and hit Ray on the head.  
  
"What was that for?!"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You hit me in the head!"  
  
"Really? Hmph… You deserve it."  
  
"Excuse me?!" Kai didn't answer, so Ray tried again. "Why'd you throw your bag at me?"  
  
"My clothes are in there, you idiot. My 'proof' that I changed, now let me out!" Kai started to bang on the door once again. Ray picked up the bag and unzipped it. Sure enough, Kai's clothes were inside. Ray slowly pulled the door open, but once Kai saw the door start to open up, he forced it open quickly, squishing Ray between the door and the wall.  
  
"Augh!"  
  
"Hn." Kai grabbed his bag and went outside. Ray sighed and changed, himself. The things he does sometimes…  
  
  
  
"Darn Ray. Who does he think he is, dragging me out here in this darned beach with his darned 'friends.' Curses," thought Kai. Lying a large beach towel on the sand, he propped up a large beach umbrella. Kai looked around. There was no escape. "Might as well stay here. Those darned people won't let me out of their sight." Kai replaced his glasses with a pair of light coloured sunglasses from his bag. Sitting on the towel, he pulled out his book and read.  
  
  
  
"Ooo! Kai's a NERD!" exclaimed Tyson when he burst from the change rooms. "He's got a big girly parasol there too!!!"  
  
"Calm down, Kai. You should not mess with little pests. They do not deserve to be around the likes of you. That's right… calm down. Be absorbed into the wonderful world of books. That's right. Good," thought Kai, as he took deep breaths.  
  
"Hey Kenny!" called out Tyson to another who emerged from the stalls. "You've got competition for nerd of the Bladebreakers!"  
  
"No no. Don't beat the crap out of Tyson. He's just a lucky weakling. Lucky he gets to live at all." Kai grinned at his last thought.  
  
"Mariah! You look… very… pink," said Tyson. Mariah met up with Kenny and Tyson.  
  
"You think? Pink's my favorite colour, I don't know if you could tell," replied Mariah cheerfully.  
  
"Yea… anyways, do you like Kai's parasol?" asked Tyson.  
  
"Just a little bug… an itsy bitsy little bug that can be squished with a single hair. Isn't worth any of my time. One little itsy bitsy ANNOYING bug that's not worth my time… I must not think about their pettiness," thought Kai, trying to calm himself down.  
  
"Parasol? That's not a parasol. Geeze, Tyson. And besides, it's not pink, so why would I like it?"  
  
"Dunno… oh, it's Max and Ray! You guys! Over here!" yelled Tyson.  
  
"All right. Ready to hit the waters, you guys?" asked Max.  
  
"YUP!" They all raced to the ocean, but Ray stopped at Kai.  
  
"You too, Kai!"  
  
"I came to the beach, now leave me alone." Ray frowned, and ran off into the ocean.  
  
LATER  
  
The sun was lowering itself in the sky, and they all had to leave soon.  
  
Everyone except Kai was splashing in the water. Mariah would squeal loudly once in a while to try to get Kai's attention and make him jealous, but to no avail. "Oh well… at least I get time with Ray," smiled Mariah.  
  
Ray looked up on the beach to see Kai contently reading his book. Noticing Ray's lack of attention towards her, Mariah said, "Ray! Chase me!"  
  
"Huh? Just a minute."  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Ray climbed out onto the beach and to Kai with his book. "Hey, Kai."  
  
"…"  
  
"Why don't you come in the water for a while before we have to leave?"  
  
"No thanks."  
  
"The water's great!"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Why won't you come with us?"  
  
"Don't want to. Got a problem with it?" Kai glared at Ray, before returning his gaze to his book.  
  
"You got your swimming trunks on, already. Why are you wearing them if you're not going swimming?"  
  
"You made me."  
  
"Oh yea."  
  
"Gay idiot," thought Kai as he rolled his eyes. He paused for a while, before thinking, "oh, crap. I'm in my trunks! And gay Ray was the one who forced me into them! That means I'm practically naked! Oh geeze… this is great. Now he wants me in the water. He'll probably want to play tag, no doubt. That means he'll touch me! An excuse to touch me! Oh no! Stupid. I should have tried harder to stay at home." Kai began to hit himself on the head repeatedly with his book, "baka baka baka baka baka baka baka baka…"  
  
"Kai, you okay?"  
  
"Huh?" Kai snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh yea, he's still there," thought.  
  
"If you have a headache, you shouldn't hit your head, you know. Come in the water. It'll help."  
  
"No no, I'm fine."  
  
"What, can't you swim?"  
  
"Of course I can swim."  
  
"Then come on!" Ray went up behind Kai, and pulled off his sunglasses and snatched the book from his hands, placing them on the towel. Grabbing Kai's arms, he began to pull Kai towards the ocean.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?! Let go of me!" Kai wasn't going down without a fight. Yanking his hands from Ray's grip, he surprised him. "Hmpf."  
  
  
  
Mariah watched Ray go on shore and approach Kai.  
  
"Oh no… Ray's trying to get Kai to come in the water with us!" thought Mariah, "I must get keep them away from each other! A plan… a plan… I need a plan!" With that in mind, Mariah decided to swim farther out into the ocean, keeping an eye on the two boys. Seeing Ray grab Kai's arms, Mariah started to swim faster. Clearing her throat, she began to spray water.  
  
"HELP! RAY! I'M DROWNING! RAY! HELP ME!!" screamed Mariah, thinking to herself, "heh heh… Ray doesn't know I finally learned how to swim a few weeks ago. This plan is fool-proof! He's going to come and save me like he usually did when we were little. I'm going to feel his arms around me! Those strong, muscled arms of my hot god…"  
  
  
  
"Oh come on, Kai."  
  
"It's not like I wanted to come here in the first place, you know. I'm only here 'cuz you made me."  
  
"Yes I did. It was to make you have fun. Now you're going to have it." Ray made an attempt to grab Kai's arm once again, but failed as Kai moved them out of his reach. "Fine, have it your way." Ray bent down and wrapped his arms around Kai's chest. Kai gasped. Out of everything Ray could have done, this was not what he expected.  
  
  
  
Mariah opened her eyes wide with horror when Ray wrapped her arms around Kai's chest. She began to shriek loudly for help and splash around wildly.  
  
"Come on, Ray! Help me!" thought Mariah. She shut her eyes tightly and screamed her lungs out, bobbing in and out of the waves.  
  
  
  
Snapping out of his daze, Kai began to struggle against Ray's grip.  
  
"Ray! Let go of me! As your captain, I order you to let go of me!"  
  
"Not until I get you into the water!"  
  
"I don't want to be in the water!" Both boys had started to raise their voice. Kai tried to loosen Ray's grip, but it was too tight. He desperately dug his heels into the sand, slowing Ray down considerably.  
  
"Grrr… Kai!" yelled Ray, tugging Kai along the sand.  
  
"Then let go of me!"  
  
"No way!" Kai dug his heels further into the sand. Ray growled and used all his strength to pull Kai. "Why do you hate the water so much?!"  
  
"What's it to you?!"  
  
"Just tell me!"  
  
"No!" Ray almost had Kai in the water. Grunting, Ray gave one final heave and Kai flew up and fell on top of Ray, causing both of them to fall into the water with a loud splash.  
  
  
  
Mariah felt a pair of arms encircle her waist, pulling her up to the surface, towards shore.  
  
"Yes! Ray!" she thought, "I knew you'd save me!" She gloated, keeping her eyes closed. "Hehe… I think I'll pretend to be unconscious. Then Ray'll have to kiss me while he's doing CPR!" Mariah felt herself being pulled onto the sand and being laid down gently. Holding her breath, she felt two fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse, before shifting to under her chin, tipping her head up and opening her mouth. In moments, she felt someone's lips against her own and she snapped her eyes open. Looking up at her savior, she—  
  
  
  
The boys got up, spluttering.  
  
"Naughty naughty naughty," clucked someone.  
  
Kai and Ray glanced up to see none other than Tyson.  
  
"Huh?" asked Ray. Kai just glared at the grinning Tyson.  
  
"Why you little—" A high-pitched scream pierced through the warm air. They boys got up and ran towards the source.  
  
Seeing Max and Kenny on their kneeled down by a body, they increased their speed. Nearing their friends, they saw it was Mariah on the ground, hunched over, coughing and spitting.  
  
"What happened?" asked Ray.  
  
"Well… I heard someone scream for help. So I looked into the ocean and I saw Mariah there. I dove in and pulled her out of the water. She didn't seem to be breathing, so I gave her mouth-to-mouth, and then she screamed, and… well, you've got eyes," said Kenny. (A/N: I don't think I can say the same for Kenny.)  
  
Ray and Tyson couldn't help but snicker, while Kai smirked. Kenny giving mouth to mouth? No wonder Mariah screamed.  
  
"Come on, Mariah. Let's go home. It's getting late, too," said Ray after a while, grabbing Mariah's arm and pulling her up. Staggering away, she disappeared into the change rooms. The boys followed suit.  
  
LATER  
  
Tyson, Max and Ray exited the change rooms together and saw Kai packing everything and putting it into the van. Mariah was leaning against the side of the van, clutching her stomach, looking very sick.  
  
"You okay?" asked Max as the boys neared the van. Mariah nodded.  
  
"Hey hot stuff," came a voice. Everyone looked up to see a beach bum dressed in a long gray and raggedy cloak clutching a large bottle in one hand. He swayed back and forth dangerously and hiccupping once in a while.  
  
"Um… can we help you sir?" asked Ray politely.  
  
"Watch it, kid. Can't you see I'm busy?" he snapped, poking Ray's chest and swaying, "Now. Back to you missy."  
  
"Me?" asked Mariah faintly.  
  
"Yes, you. Who else? As I was saying, you wanna come with me and hang out at my box? It's a great 2 footer made of the nicest cardboard around." The boys started to snicker.  
  
"No, thank you," Mariah simply said.  
  
"What? Is my box not good enough for you?"  
  
"I think we'll leave you two alone," said Tyson grinning, as the boys disappeared into the van.  
  
"Well, I never really wanted you anyways," continued the man, "you go take your crazy hair to some other place then, you good for nothing, b----! (A/N: CENSORED! I couldn't think of anything else to call her, heh heh.)  
  
"Excuse me?" asked Mariah, steaming up.  
  
"That's right. You heard me. You're a filthy little brat who can't get a decent hair cut. And I thought mine was bad," said the man who pulled off his hat revealing a scraggly haircut. The next thing the poor man knew, he was flying off into space. (A/N: Think of Team Rocket from Pokemon "blasting off again," or Keitaro in Love Hina being beaten up by Naru.)  
  
Mariah opened the van door to a bunch of boys laughing their heads off, except for Kai who had a large smirk on his face. The boys looked up at the fuming Mariah and shut up immediately. Climbing in, Mariah said, "We are never to speak of this." The boys grinned and nodded, chuckling to themselves as they drove back home.

* * *

Hehe. A quick update. But it's one LONG chapter. Stupid… I can't used asterisks, the little caret things or the squiggly tildes. Well, I don't think I'll update for a while. My ideas have been drained out of me.


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